Hogwarts' Cinderella
by nerdySoHa
Summary: A Cinderella Story at Hogwarts! Anastasia is Cinderella, but who is she really? Who is Prince Charming? What about the odd dreams she keeps having? And then why does she feel deja vu when something of significance happens? Some things are changing, but she is barely aware of them. Read as she finds out what the changes are; and as she finds herself and her identity at Hogwarts. :)
1. Disclaimer and an AN

**Dear Reader,**

**This is a disclaimer that the Harry Potter Series do not belong to me. The owner of this extraordinary world is the amazing writer, J. K. Rowling. I have only borrowed a few concepts from her story and I am using them to give life to my own.**

**I only the own the characters Annika Malfoy and, the character of focus of my story, Anastasia. All others are the creation of J. K. Rowling.**

**I hope you enjoy my story and find it in your heart to forgive me for removing this story earlier. I would suggest you to reread from Chapter 1: Malfoy Manor as I have put slight changes in all early chapters and they will be of significance later on.**

**Please Comment if there is anything you would like me to know and also have any suggestions or noticed any mistakes!**

**Have fun!**

**nerdySoHa :)**


	2. Chapter 1

Hogwarts` Cinderella

**Chapter 1: Malfoy Mano****r**

Anastasia picked up the bucket of dirty soap water and the wet rag from the freshly cleaned floors, and walked out of the living room into the kitchen, which she also referred to as her bedroom. After getting rid of the barely clean rag and the water, she placed the now empty bucket below the huge sink and wiped her hands with the towel she had conveniently hung beside it before-hand. Glancing around the huge silver and emerald themed kitchen, like the rest of the manor, she walked out and hurried to the dining room where her foster family, namely the Malfoys, had almost finished their breakfast.

She had grown quite accustomed to calling the Malfoy Manor her 'home' when in reality it was nothing more than a workplace for her where her employers gave her a bed to sleep and some food that barely kept her alive, at least while she was not at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Her employers in this case were her foster parents; Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, who made her work without any payment. Though, she did not quite understand why the Malfoys had adopted her, six years ago, in the first place, if all they wanted was a human slave. It did not make sense, as they already had a couple of house elves that could do all their household chores and could also run outside errands.

When this family of purebloods had come to the orphanage she had lived at, they seemed very sweet and caring, but later it turned out that it was all for show... Reality was that they wanted a puppet who would dance whenever they wanted and in every way they wanted it to. It was a method to make them look good in front of the Ministry of Magic, knowing that their history of involvement with Lord Voldemort did little to prevent them from public humiliation, anyway.

She was one year old when her parents were killed and she was never told who they were or who killed them, or even how she was brought to the orphanage, because apparently she did not have any living relatives left. She preferred to stay ignorant, anyway. She was often tempted to seek those killers for revenge, but then she would repress the feelings thinking it was a waste of time and energy. If she was meant to know about her parents, then she would know when the time was right. For now, ignorance was bliss.

Now at the blooming age of almost fourteen, she was more of a servant to her foster parents and siblings than an adopted daughter or sister. She did all the chores around the manor and also quite a bit of outside errands, despite the presence of house elves. She, however, thought it was better this way; the lesser the house elves were told to work, the lesser they would suffer at the brutal hands of the Malfoys for no reason.

She had tried to guess the reason for the hatred she received from her foster parents, but she would come up with nothing but only the fact that she looked the complete opposite of a Malfoy. The Malfoys all had white-blonde hair and pale complexions, and she, on the other hand, had jet black hair that she always kept up in a bun, with olive complexioned skin. While the Malfoys were tall, she was no taller than 5 feet 3 inches. Last, but not the least, her foster family had either grey eyes or blue, but she had, in her opinion, dull and boring brown eyes, that had too much pain and sorrow hidden beneath the surface. She knew she looked nothing special compared to her foster sister, Annika, but she still thought that it would have been nice if once in a while someone would tell her that even she, the plain and boring Anastasia Malfoy, had pretty eyes and nice hair, which would be an utter lie, but refreshing nonetheless.

The Malfoys hated her so much that they taken to calling her by the name '_Nasty_a' rather than her real name 'Anastasia' or even the nickname she had been given by her old friends at the orphanage, 'Asia'. She always called herself either Asia or Anastasia, never introducing herself as Nastya to anybody. It was nasty when her foster family used it to humiliate her as it was, she did not want anyone else bothering her about it too.

_Maybe t__hey hate me becaus__e__ I am in Gryffindor__..._ she always thought, but never had the guts to believe any of her assumptions where her foster family was concerned. Besides, she had become a Gryffindor after she had joined Hogwarts and they had treated like dirt eversince she was a month from her eighth birthday.

Walking through the dark and gloomy hallways of the Manor, and passing several doors and rooms, Asia made her way into the dining room where the only source of light was the sunlight streaming through the large window panes lined across the black and grey wall opposite the big oak doors she had entered through. In the middle of the room stood a long dining table that seated more than fourteen people, but currently sat only the four Malfoys: Father, at the head of the table; Mother, on his right; Annika, beside Mother; and Draco, on Father's left. There was also a fireplace behind Father's seat, which gave only a little heat to the cold and stony room.

Father sat there reading a copy of the Daily Prophet while eating a piece of bacon with his silver fork. The others sat eating so quietly that the silence felt eerie and uncomfortable.

"Just a reminder, Nastya," said Father monotonously in his cold voice, without looking up, startling her a little, "You are expected to be well and ready to leave at two in the afternoon, sharp. If not, we will be insisted to leave you here to prepare our back-to-home meal, while we enjoy the World Cup that you want to attend oh-so-dearly. Is that understood?"

"Yes, father," Asia replied in a small voice.

"Is that understood, loud and clear?" Father asked in a louder and threatening voice this time, without even looking up from the Prophet.

"Yes, father," Asia repeated, louder, knowing the consequences of not being loud enough for Father or Mother to hear.

She remembered the last time she was not loud enough, when she received a dose of the Cruciatus Curse for twenty, long, painful minutes, after which she could not walk properly for at least an hour. Of course, she received a separate punishment for that after she tried and failed to walk a couple of times. Mother had made her stand in the corner of the library for ten hours straight, without permitting her to eat or drink, or even to go to the washroom; the worst ten hours of her life.

She shuddered at the memory. That was three years ago, on her eleventh birthday. It was the same day when she had received her letter from Hogwarts. She had been so excited that morning; she had thought that nothing could have brought her spirits down. She could not have been more wrong. That punishment had been a birthday gift from her foster family. Even the house elf, Dobby had given her a better gift than that!

"Good," replied Father, bringing Asia back from her memory lane, "Now I'll have to get going to the Ministry. Clean the house up, and do what you are told to do. If I get anything close to a complaint from my kids about your attitude or any of your smartness, you should be ready for the consequences later tonight, then."

With that said, he pushed past her and walked out of the dining room and then the house leaving echoes of slamming doors behind him, and a 'pop' telling everyone that he had already apparated to the Ministry. The impact of Father's nudge had left Asia holding onto the oak door for support, as she barely avoided herself being hurt.

"Clean up this mess," snapped Mother, as she stood up and walked past her to do who-knows-what.

"You have fifteen minutes, Nastya," sneered Annika, as she too pushed her seat back, creating a loud scraping noise, and stalked toward Asia, "Clean this up and bring me my cleansers. Don't be late, or you will know the end result."

"Yes, Annika," Asia replied, in a non-wavering voice, and gave a small nod.

Annika just smirked and walked out of the dining room, flipping her straight, white-blonde hair over her shoulder, as Asia just watched her walk away.

Another scraping sound made her snap her attention back to the dining table. It was Draco. He stood up and picked up a piece of toast from the table and wordlessly walked out of the room.

_He always does that_, Asia thought with a sigh.

And it was true. He never encouraged any of the abuse Asia had suffered all these years, but he never did anything to make it better, either. But it was enough for Asia to realize that Draco did have some good in him, even though he never showed it to others willingly.

Asia just kept thinking about her past and present life as she started the long process of throwing away the leftovers and collecting and transferring all the clean and dirty dishes to the kitchen. If she worked on a normal pace, it usually took her about half an hour to do so, because of the amount of dishes and food her foster family wasted. But, today she had been given a special warning to complete all this in only fifteen minutes: meaning to work three times faster than she always does. She did not want to anger Annika, further angering Father and Mother in the process and as a result, missing the once in a lifetime opportunity of going to the World Cup.

Tomorrow would be her fourteenth birthday and it was a miracle that for the first time in her life, on her birthday, something that she liked would be happening. Tomorrow she would be among her fellow Quidditch fans, watching her favorite players play the Quidditch World Cup Finals. Bulgaria versus Ireland. Victor Krum played the Bulgarian seeker. Troy, Mullet and Moran, were her favorite players from the Irish team. No one knew how much she enjoyed Quidditch.

Quidditch...

Oh, how she absolutely loved the game! It seemed like it had been ages since she last played, whereas in reality she had played only almost a month and a half ago. Well, it was more of a lonely practice, but it was playing all the same. Ever since she learnt how to fly on her very first flying lessons in her first year at Hogwarts, she had fallen in love with the feeling of freedom she had never felt before. The feeling of being high up in the sky where there is no limit to where one can go and how far they can go, had just kept her hooked. She had never tried out for the Quidditch team, but she always attended the games and had always played by herself out in the pitch when there was no match or no practice. She smiled as she remembered the last time she had flown and had felt the freedom, which she needed so badly at the moment. She could practically feel it as she walked from the dining room to the kitchen a little faster than normal, that caused a few of her black curls to stir in the air.

She was carrying the last of the dishes to the kitchen when her small moment of happiness was cut short by her name being screamed from somewhere on the second floor of the Manor.

"NASTYA!" It was Annika.

_Seems like my fifteen minutes are already over_, she thought ruefully.

She rushed up the stairs while carrying a large bowl filled with lukewarm water, a few slices of lemon and a couple of drops of honey. She balanced the bowl in one hand and while she wiped the other hand on her half-wet apron, she knocked on the door to Annika's bedroom. The door was a light grey color with an emerald door knob that turned as Annika opened the door slowly and let Asia in.

"Took you long enough," She snapped at her.

"Sorry, Annika," Asia replied hurriedly, "the water took long to warm."

"Oh whatever," Annika waved her off, as she walked over to the dresser and sat on the green cushioned chair in front of it.

She looked like the epitome of perfection even when she had done nothing but let her long white-blonde curls loose. She had a plain, blood-red, silk gown on that had a round neck and reached her ankles. It sharply contrasted with her pale complexion and blemish-free skin.

She looked older than her twelve-year-old-self because of her height and looks. She was tall and slim and had a pointed face, just like her older brother. Annika was everything Asia wanted to be - at least as far looks went. But if she were to be asked what she would not like to change about herself, it would be her personality. Asia's personality was way more appealing than Annika's.

"Now, hurry-up already! I don't have all day!"

Asia hurriedly walked over to the dresser and placed the large bowl in front of her and walked back out the door, closing it quietly before hurrying down the stairs and into the kitchen where she had a large pile of dishes left to wash and dry.

However, when she entered the kitchen she was shocked, to say the least, to see all the dishes clean and dry, neatly piled up on the shelves beside the sink. She searched the kitchen for any sign of one of the house elves who could have finished her task, but obviously she could find no one. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she thought of anyone who would do this for her, without the fear of being caught and punished.

Suddenly there was a 'pop' behind her, snapping her attention back to the door, where she found a tray filled with a very warm and delicious breakfast.

So this person knows I did not have breakfast yet, she thought as her frown deepened. Then as she thought it, her confused expression changed to that of understanding and a slow smile spread across her face.

"You can come out now, Dobby," she said in a low voice.

Just as she said this, the house elf appeared before her with another 'pop'. He was the same as she had last seen him: large, bat-like ears and bulging green eyes the size of tennis balls. He had a large smile on his face as he jumped up and hugged the life out of her.

"Hello to you too, Dobby," Asia said with a chuckle as she hugged the little creature back. It had been ages since she last saw him and ages since she had smiled this wide.

It felt good to have him back.


	3. Chapter 2

Hogwarts' Cinderella

**Chapter 2: Dobby**

Dobby had worked for the Malfoys from ever since Asia could remember. He had done everything he could do to keep her away from the evil wrath of the Malfoys. It was not enough, but it meant a lot to her. He was her only friend while she was in the confinement of the Malfoy Manor. He would always make her food while she was busy tending to the endless tasks of his Masters. At times, Dobby would eavesdrop on a few conversations around the Manor and also around the places where wizards and witches would always be found gossiping, and then he would inform Asia of anything that might be useful for her.

It was during the summer before her second year, when Asia had overheard her Father talking about the Chamber of Secrets and other dangerous things that were about to happen at Hogwarts that year. When she had told Dobby about this, he had insisted to go and inform Harry Potter about the danger that was in store for him that year. She did not know why, but she was worried for Harry and she wanted him to be safe, so Asia had allowed Dobby to go and do what he had to. Though, she knew that Dobby would have to punish himself later for betraying his Master this way, but she did not want Harry to be unprepared for what was to come.

Asia had figured that Harry would not end up on the receiving end of the danger because Dobby would give him complete details about everything he and Asia knew. Later, she found out that Dobby did not even tell Harry about the Chamber of Secrets or about the family he worked for. She had chastised Dobby about it even more when she found out that Dobby had been confiscating all the letters Harry's friends had been sending him since the beginning of summer. She had felt so bad for Harry. Asia knew how it felt to be lonely even when there were many people around.

When Dobby started punishing himself by ironing his fingers for being a traitor to his Master, Asia had felt bad for saying anything remotely stern to him. He had gone to the extent of betraying his Master being a house elf. So she had apologized and had tended to his wounds that were a result of his self-induced punishments.

Asia, however, had not known about Father's intentions of using Ginny Weasley as a method to bring danger to Hogwarts. She had known that Father had done this more for personal gain than to fulfill his 'Dark Lords' wishes. Asia very well knew, like almost everyone, how much he loathed Muggles and Muggle-borns. She had yet to meet a man who was any more loathsome and cruel than Lucius Malfoy. She had scars to prove the fact time and time again.

When Harry had set Dobby free at the end of their second year, Asia had felt her respect for him rise a tenfold than it already was. She had adored Harry for his kindness, even though she knew she would be even lonelier than she was before, now with Dobby gone. But she could not bring herself to be sad about this, knowing that Dobby was born to be a free elf. So she reveled in the fact that now he would live his life the way he wanted and he would always be there for her.

Being in the same House and having several adventures with Harry, Ron, and Hermione did cause a friendship to blossom between them; but she had always been too scared to get attached to anyone out of the fear of losing them because of her foster family. The Malfoys had taken away from her everything that had made her happy in the last six years. Openly declaring that she was best-friends with the-boy-who-lived and his best friends would cause a mayhem withing the Malfoy Manor and she would be abused till as good as dead and would be forced to stay away from them.

The Weasleys, Hermione and Harry knew very well that she was abused by her foster family. It was never said out loud, however. A silent agreement between them that if anyone said a word out loud, they would be the ones ridiculed by Lucius Malfoy. He was too much of a powerful man to be overthrown by anyone.

Despite all of this, Harry had always considered her as a close friend; at least that was what it seemed like. He even called her by her real name, 'Anastasia' or another nickname he had given to her last year; 'Anya'. She had barely heard him call her 'Asia'. When asked, he would just shrug in reply and not say anything.

Dobby was the only other person who called her Anastasia. Everyone else at Hogwarts, like the Weasleys, Hermione, her fellow Gryffindors, and everyone but the Slytherins, called her Asia. And she liked it when they called her that; she loved her name a lot. The Slytherins followed her foster family's example and called her 'Nastya', the name she utterly detested. But it did not matter what Anastasia liked or disliked. What mattered was what Father, Mother, Draco and Annika liked.

"Dobby knew," squeaked Dobby, bringing Asia back from her memory lane, as he let go and moved a couple paces back to look up at her, "Dobby knew Anastasia has still to eat breakfast. So he makes his best friend something delicious. Dobby has also cleans all dishes for you, Anastasia."

Asia could not help but notice how differently Dobby was dressed. He was wearing a tea cozy for a hat, on which he had pinned a number of bright badges; a tie patterned with horseshoes over a bare chest, a pair of shorts, and odd socks. It was completely contrary to his pillowcase of a shirt. Asia smiled as she saw that one of the socks he wore was the black one Harry had removed from his own foot and tricked Father into giving Dobby, setting him free. The other was covered in pink and orange stripes.

"Yes, Dobby," Asia replied with a small grin as she glanced at the shelves, "I can see all the clean and dry dishes on the shelves. Thank you for everything. You did that even when you did not have to."

"Nonsense," He cried, "This is the least Dobby has done for his best friend, after everything she suffers as a result of Dobby leaving."

"Oh no, Dobby," She gave him a small sad smile, "You should not blame yourself. I do not hold you responsible for all that Father and Mother do to me. It is nowhere near your fault."

"Sweet, sweet Anastasia," he said, slowly shaking his head with a smile on his face, "Always thinking of others before herself. How... how valiant."

"Let's go inside," Asia said as she picked up the tray of breakfast Dobby had made for her, "I do not have any more chores for at least another half hour."

Dobby followed her into the little broom closet in the kitchen that also served as Asia's bedroom; and they were now sitting on the floor next to her makeshift bed. Asia sat nibbling on her piece of toast as Dobby told her about his adventures from the past years.

"Dobby has had to travel the country for two whole years trying to find work!" he said, grinning, as he watched Asia eat, "But Dobby had not found work all this time, Anastasia. They say that house-elves do not need paying, when Dobby asks for it."

"So, now what are you going to do?" Asia asked him, while she handed him a piece of toast, "You need to work after all."

"Dobby has to visit a few more places, Anastasia, to look for a family that can pays him," Dobby squeaked in reply taking the toast, "He has to visit Winky too! Then Dobby will see what he shall do."

Winky was another house-elf Dobby knew. She worked for Bartemius Crouch, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at the Ministry of Magic. Asia remembered her only because Dobby had told her that Winky was afraid of heights. It was such characteristics that helped her distinguish between the different people Dobby would tell Asia about.

"That is very nice, Dobby," Asia said with a smile as she took a sip of pumpkin juice from a silver goblet, "I hope you find a place to work with your preferences soon!"

"Thank you, kind Anastasia," Dobby replied with a grin, "Harry Potter and Anastasia are two different people with the same qualities."

"You have seen Harry? How is he?" Asia asked eagerly, as she felt her stomach doing somersaults on hearing that name from Dobby.

"Dobby never said anything about meeting Harry Potter," he sniggered, as Asia's face turned a slight shade of pink.

"Oh, hush, you!" She mumbled, feeling embarrassed, as she took a bite from the last piece of her breakfast, "I only wanted to hear about someone from outside this huge manor. It seems like it has been ages since I last saw anyone who is not a Malfoy."

"Of course," replied Dobby, with a small smile, "But everything aside. Dobby has brought Anastasia an early birthday present."

"Oh, Dobby," Asia said, "You should not have!"

"But, Dobby knows how much Anastasia misses him," Dobby replied, while producing a small, black pouch from within his shorts, "So Dobby brought something Anastasia could remember him with."

Dobby handed the pouch to Asia and gestured for her to open it. Asia, very carefully, pulled open the pouch, and peered inside so that she could see what was inside. She flipped the pouch upside-down and something small, cold, and metallic touched her palm. Placing the pouch on the floor beside the breakfast tray, she stared at the golden chain and pendant that now sat in her hand.

Glancing at Dobby, whose face looked like it would almost split in half due to the huge smile he had there; she picked the chain up with an end in each hand and stared at the little gift. It looked like something an old crook would be selling in Knockturn Alley, but it meant the world to her. This was the first piece of jewelry she had ever come close to earning the possession of. It was one of those lockets that could open like a book; the ones in which one could put a picture inside of.

"Go on," Dobby encouraged her, "Open it."

Following Dobby's instructions, Asia timidly opened the pendant and took a look at the picture that was inside it. On the right side was a picture that was taken last year of Harry Potter. On the left side was the letter 'A' from her own name. It was the most beautiful gift she had ever received from anyone in the fourteen years of her existence.

Harry's photograph was taken by Asia herself. She was exceptionally talented in photography and even had a photography kit hidden in the Room of Requirement at Hogwarts, along with many of her other prized possessions. She did not want to risk her most precious possession to be taken away from her by the Malfoys. So before returning to the Manor after her first year, she had asked Headmaster Dumbledore for permission to keep her stuff at Hogwarts instead. And when he advised her to hide it all in the RoR, she had been ecstatic.

The 'A' on the left side was written by Asia herself. She had a quite distinctive handwriting. If one was asked to point her handwriting out in a jumble of many others, it would be easy to do so. She had yet to see someone who had handwriting similar to hers; even the teachers at Hogwarts said so. It was cursive styled and had too many curves and swirls in it.

Asia stared at the gift and then looked up at Dobby who was fidgeting as he sat in front of her.

"So?" asked Dobby, in a small timid squeak, "Does Anastasia likes Dobby's gift?"

"Dobby," Asia called, her voice thick with emotions, so she cleared her throat once and spoke again, "Dobby, where did you get this? How did you afford such a thing?"

"Never mind that, Anastasia," he squeaked, "Does Anastasia likes it?"

"I do not like it, Dobby," Asia said, making Dobby hang his head low as if deflated, "I love it!"

Dobby snapped his head back and jumped on top of Asia, hugging her so tight that it was hard for her to breath.

"Dobby -" gasped Asia, "Cannot - breathe-"

"Dobby's deepest apologies, Anastasia!" he said as he let go of her quickly, "Dobby believed Anastasia would like this little token that symbolizes both the people Dobby holds dear to his heart. Anastasia and Harry Potter are his two best friends ever, and Dobby will always take care of them!"

Asia wanted to cry so much at this moment because of the sweet words Dobby had just spoken, but it was impossible for her to do so. She could not cry. It was a dreadful truth she had avoided to acknowledge for such a long time many years ago.

She was seven and a half years old when she was adopted by the Malfoys. Almost eight years when all the abuse had started. She was not used to being treated with such hatred and venom due to being in the care of such a loving matron at her old orphanage. So she had cried. She had cried for hours on end every night after the hitting, punching and slapping. As a result, a few months later, she felt like all the tears had run out and she could not cry anymore, no matter how much she wanted to at several occasions.

On the night before her eighth birthday, she had been sent to bed without any food. She was so sad as she remembered her previous birthdays at the orphanage that had been way better than her first birthday out of the orphanage. After crying herself to sleep, hours after midnight, she woke up with a tear-stained face. When she remembered what day it was, she wanted to cry all over again, but it was not possible anymore for her. She had denied the truth for years after that, but she had to come to terms with reality when she received her Hogwarts' letter.

"I want to cry, Dobby," Asia said to Dobby, who was the only one aware of her disability.

"Oh no, Anastasia," Dobby said, "It is your birthday and no one cries on their birthday. Everybody smiles. Harry Potter smiles on his birthday, Dobby remembers!"

Asia smiled at Dobby-

"NASTYA!" Mother's shrill voice called from somewhere outside the little closet.

Asia's big, very rare smile dropped and as she gave a light hug to Dobby and watched Dobby as he apparated to where his next destination was after saying a quick "Goodbye".

Her half an hour was over and she had to get back to work. She quickly clasped the locket around her thin neck and rushed out of her 'bedroom' to attend to her next chore.

_My small early-birthday celebration is over before it even got a chance to start_, she thought with a heavy sigh as she walked out of the kitchen..


	4. Chapter 3

Hogwarts' Cinderella

**Chapter 3: Owl Post**

Dobby had left a few hours ago and after serving lunch, Asia was now finishing the laundry. She picked up the last basket of clothing, her arms strained from attempting to carry the heavy wet mass twelve or so feet to the drying line. Thankfully Mother had the line placed closer to the Manor and in its shade, due to the sun lightening her clothes, or Asia would have had to walk even further from the washing room. Unlike most households, the Malfoys preferred to have their clothes dried by Asia, outside in the warmth of the sun on warm days, rather than have house elves to wash and dry the clothes with their magic, making work twice as hard for her.

As Asia was shaking the last of the dress robes, she heard Annika shriek from inside the Manor.

_Another jobberknoll must have snuck in_, Asia sighed.

_[See Author's Note below]_

She quickly snapped the fabric onto the line and tossed in the remaining pins, picked up the basket and ran toward the large manor. Asia knew that her name would be called any minute and she would once again be somehow blamed for the little 'incident' that would just occur.

She hurriedly entered through the back door that opened into the kitchen and placed the basket below the sink. Wiping her hands dry with her apron, she practically ran to the broom closet and picked up the first mop that her hand could reach. She carried the mop all the way to the living room where she was sure she would find Annika hiding under a table, scared of a harmless and silent bird; ready to blame Asia of letting it inside the house in the first place.

When she entered the living room, though, she found the complete opposite picture of what she had expected. Annika sat on the couch with a piece of parchment in her hand, Mother sitting beside her with a small smile and Draco sat opposite them on another love seat also holding a duplicate piece of parchment but he had a bored expression on his face – the complete opposite of what Annika's face showed. Though she did not need to question what they held in their hands, as she saw an owl perched on the edge of the table that sat in the middle of the room.

The owl was from Hogwarts. Their letters had arrived! No wonder Annika had screamed —

"AAH!" Annika screamed again, "They said that we need dress robes if we are in fourth year or above for a formal occasion!" She was practically jumping for joy.

"But you are only in second year, honey," Mother reminded her with an amused shake of her head.

"Does it matter, Mother?" asked Annika irritably, "They obviously asked us to bring dress robes because there must be a ball! If yes, then I can always make some fourth year to ask me as a date to the ball. Moreover, there is obviously always a chance of some boy from seventh year to ask me as well, but oh, well."

"Alright then dear," Mother said with a chuckle, "We'll go and get you and Draco some dress robes after we return from the World Cup."

"NO!" shouted Annika, "All the good dresses will be gone by then. We have to get them before we leave for that stupid game, Mother!"

"Will you just shut UP!" said Draco, shouting out the last word, "Your stupid dress can wait. Besides, we have a few hours to waste tomorrow before we leave for the World Cup. We can always get those dress robes then."

"But—"

"It's alright, Annika, dear," Mother interjected before Annika could say anything stupid to anger Draco further, "We'll go to Diagon Alley today to get all your school supplies. And tomorrow, we'll get your dress before going to the game. What do you say?"

"Perfect." "Acceptable." Draco and Annika said, respectively.

Asia watched the whole scene from the entrance to the living room with a broom in her hand, when Mother noticed the owl on the table, frowned and muttered something inaudible to Asia.

"NASTYA!" Mother yelled, making her jump and drop her broom to the floor.

The clattering noise that resulted from the broom hitting the floor attracted the trio's attention to Asia, who stood frozen staring wide-eyed back at them, as if caught doing a crime.

"And what exactly do you think you are doing eavesdropping on our conversation, young lady?" Mother snapped.

"I was hanging clothes on the line outside, Mother, when I heard Annika's scream," Asia replied, feeling conscious of the cold stares she was receiving from her foster family, "I thought it was another jobberknoll."

"I don't care about what you think or do," snapped Annika, with a flick of her hand, "The point is, you're here right now. So you will do as I say, and I say that you should go and make yourself look presentable because we will be leaving for Diagon Alley soon. Right, Mother?"

"Right," Mother replied.

"Even though, I know whatever you do, you can't possibly look any better than that," Annika sneered at Asia, as she looked down at her tattered clothes and apron, disgustingly.

"Nastya," Mother said, diverting Asia's stare to her, "Go and change into something presentable. You are not to be seen in such discourteous rags!"

"Yes, Mother," Asia replied.

"And take your letter with you!"

Asia picked up the broom from the floor and hurried over to the table where the owl was still perched silently. The owl stuck out its leg, to which a thick envelope was tied, shook its feathers, and took off the moment Asia had taken the letter. She sighed and turned to leave with the broom in one hand while the letter in the other.

She tore open the envelope as soon as she was inside her closet. She did feel that the envelope was quite thick and it also bore the usual Hogwarts' crest. There were three pages of parchment, so she opened the first one and read:

_Dear Ms. Malfoy,_

_Please note that the new school year will begin on September the first. The Hogwarts Express will leave from King's Cross station, platform nine and three-quarters, at eleven o'clock._

_As you are aware, third years and above are permitted to visit the village of Hogsmeade on certain weekends. Please give the enclosed permission form to your parent or guardian to sign._

_A list of books for next year is enclosed. Yours sincerely,_

_Professor M. McGonagall_

_Deputy Headmistress_

Asia pulled out the Hogsmeade permission form grinning. She loved those rare visits to the village where she could visit all the shops and not care about who might be watching her. Though, she had to run more than a few errands for Annika and Draco at times, but it did not matter to her, because she was quite well-acquainted with almost all shopkeepers and the inhabitants of the village.

She kept the form aside and pulled out the third and last parchment which contained the list of items that were required for the new academic year at Hogwarts. She unfolded the parchment and read:

_HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY_

_UNIFORM:_

_Fourth-year students will require:_

_1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)_

_2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear_

_3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)_

_4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)_

_Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags_

_COURSE BOOKS_…

And the list went on and on. It was the usual list, but what stood out most to Asia were the requirements in the 'OTHER' category. It said that students from fourth year and above were required to bring dress robes, suitable for a formal winter occasion.

As soon as she read that, Asia's grin fell. There was no way Mother and Annika would want her to attend anything like an elegant party. Besides, even if Mother did allow her to go, what would she wear? She had nothing that looked remotely close to a pretty casual dress, let alone a fancy dress appropriate for a party or ball.

Sighing, she put away the letter and opened her trunk to look for something to wear that was 'presentable' enough for Mother and Annika. However, she did not need to look for long, because she only had three dresses she had saved for such occasions. She had saved a white dress for the World Cup, a pale pink dress for the journey to Hogwarts and the third and last dress was a dark green which she decided to wear to Diagon Alley.

She went to the washroom in the hallway outside the kitchen and cleaned up any and all dirt off her face and body, and changed. The dress was completely plain (like every dress she owned), with only a black belt around the waist, and a long skirt that touched the floor. Even though she had to sew a few torn parts around the skirt with a few rags, the dress was better than her working clothes that looked as if it were made by joining small patches of different colors.

She ran a broken comb through her hair with one hand and clipped a cloak around her neck with the other. Snatching her school list from her 'bed', she rushed out of the closet, out of the kitchen, to the living room where Mother and Draco were waiting for her and Annika.

**Author's Note:**

**A Jobberknoll is a sort of bird. It is silent for the entirety of its life, but when it dies, it reproduces every sound it has ever heard before taking its last breath. It is mentioned in _Fantastical Beasts and Where to Find Them. _A very interesting creature if you ask me, really.**

**:)**


	5. Chapter 4

Hogwarts' Cinderella

**Chapter 4: The Dark Lord**

An hour later found Asia struggling to keep up with Mother and Annika in Diagon Alley, as they deliberately walked in longer strides, finding amusement in Asia's struggle. Draco had left them long ago to buy his own things, leaving Asia with the other two to carry their bags and boxes as they bought anything to everything needed for Annika's next school year and what she found remotely attractive or worthy of being found in her possession.

Asia sighed as she entered _Flourish and Blotts_ following Annika, her heart was beating rapidly with walking so fast and also due to the weight in her arms. The smell of books; old and new, hit her nostrils, relaxing her. She had always loved the smell of books and parchment.

She also loved reading. If it were up to her, she could read and reread all the books in the world and never get tired. She thought that reading was an art in itself; where one could get lost in words, facts, information, characters, and much more, no matter what the piece of reading was: fiction, or non-fiction reading for homework. One had endless possibilities of interpretations they could make regarding any particular piece of writing. Books were her safe haven. She had read each and every book that sat in the shelves of the Malfoy Manor's library over the years. There was not a single book left untouched by her.

The same could be said about the books in the library at Hogwarts. She had read every book at least twice, except the ones in the restricted sections, the ones she longed to read but were almost impossible to do so.

She stared at the rows and rows of shelves filled with books of every kind and every subject. She was dying to buy her own version of the books she needed for the new school year. But she had to wait till Annika and Draco finished their shopping.

It felt good to let her legs relax for a few seconds, even though she was still standing. But her little moment was short lived as if she had jinxed it, because right at the moment she heard the voice that annoyed her the most.

"Nastya?" Annika called in a fake sweet voice.

It was the same always. Whenever they visited a place, where there was even a remote chance for them to be recognized, Mother and Father would insist on everyone treating her like their "little princess". Asia always dreaded these visits because no matter what, she was always punished for the incidents when someone would come up to them, forcing them to treat her well. She always hesitated to do anything at these moments. Asia thought that one could never be sure what action done by her would be a right one or wrong one for the Malfoys at such times. So she thought it better to do what she has always done: follow their instructions without question or comment. It always helped her pass.

"Nastya!" Annika whisper-shouted, as she slammed a pile of books in her already laden arms, "I have been calling you for ages! What is wrong with you?"

In Annika's dictionary, even a few seconds of wait were as good as 'ages'. She lacked a trait that was found in abundance in Asia: patience.

"Sorry, Annika," Asia apologized, while balancing the books and bags in her weak arms.

"Oh, whatever," Annika scoffed in reply, "Come on now. I have several other books yet to buy!"

And she walked away leaving Asia to follow. And follow, she did. Asia never understood Annika's obsession with buying books she would never read. The library at the Manor was only half full of books that only Annika had bought, to give the impression to Mother and Father that she read, but she actually never did. Annika had even dumped her school books under her bed. She had not even taken them to school last year, and had forced Asia to complete all the homework for her with only the library books as a resource. That was the last time she had touched those books, while dumping them under the bed, and never again.

Nevertheless, Asia still followed and collected all the books Annika had planned on buying to never touch them again.

Six hours later, Asia was still busy, but this time doing something for herself: packing some possessions in a small backpack for the trip to the World Cup. After she was done, she lay on her bed and stared at the locket Dobby had gifted to her this morning. She was staring at Harry's face in the photograph, which gave her a sense of relief, unexplainable, but relief all the same. His green eyes held the care and compassion Asia longed for. The compassion she got only from Dobby and Professor Dumbledore in the past few years of abuse.

She always saw so much pain and suffering in those eyes that made her wonder if he knew what it was to be abused and humiliated like she was. Harry had tried to talk to her so many times in the last three years, but she could not bring herself to let him in. She knew she could trust him, but she did not want to begin something that would be mercilessly taken away from her by Father, Mother, Draco or Annika. They always snatched away from her the things that made her happy.

Though, she did know that even Harry was not at all happy for spending an entire summer with his Muggle relatives. She had heard many times within the walls of the Hogwarts' castle, and outside, how Harry did not like his relatives because of the how they treated him. She wondered if he was abused the same way she was…

She was snapped out of her musings because of a sound. It sounded like someone was banging their fist on the main door. Asia jumped up and slipped on her slippers, while throwing on some robes.

_Who would it be at this time? _She thought to herself.

Grabbing a lit candle stick from beside her bed, she rushed out of her closet room to see what, or who, was causing this ruckus in the middle of the night.

By the time she reached the main doors, Father, Mother, Draco and Annika were also gliding down the stairs. Asia increased her speed to avoid any reprimanding for any of them. But apparently she was too slow.

"What is taking you so long to open the darn door, Nastya?" Father scolded indignantly.

Asia wordlessly rushed past him and opened the large oak doors to find a group of men. She recognized a couple of them: Mr Crabbe and Mr Goyle, parents of Draco's best friends. They all looked scared and nervous, like they were worried that someone was following them.

They all stared at her with the same look, but only the one in the front opened his mouth to speak, but as he was about to speak, his fearful gaze landed on something behind her, or rather someone.

"What are you doing here, Macnair?" Father hissed from behind Asia, who turned to look at him.

"Did you feel it?" the man, whose name was apparently Macnair, asked back in a hushed tone.

Asia stared from Father and Macnair completely lost. What confused her even more was when Father stepped out and searched into the dark night as if looking for eavesdroppers, and ushered the group with an extremely uneasy and nervous look on his face. This surprised Asia the most, because Father was never nervous.

"Get inside!" he snapped at them and turned to close the doors, when his eyes fell on Asia, "What are you looking at? Close the doors, lock them, and get some tea for us," he ordered and led the group of men towards the dining room, with Mother, Draco and Annika following them.

Asia wasted no time; she locked the doors and rushed back to the kitchen to make some tea for their scared and unexpected guests. By the time she got to the dining room with a large tray full of tea cups and snacks, all the men were seated around the dining table, with Mother and Father at both ends, and all were involved in a pretty heated argument. Draco and Annika were missing from the assembly, but she was sure that at least Annika would be eavesdropping from outside one of the doors.

And Asia's guess was perfectly correct because as she tried to close the door after entering the room, someone blocked the door by putting their foot between the doors, namely Annika. This caused the door to hit her foot, rebound, and hit Asia on the shoulder. As a result, the cups on the tray clanked together, creating a loud noise that caused the entire conversation to cease and all the attention to turn to her. She stared back with wide eyes as if a deer caught in headlights.

"Bring the tea here and leave, you clumsy piece of filth," Father said quietly.

Asia simply ignored the insult and also the snigger that sounded from outside the door, and walked to the dining table. Placing the tray on the table, she served the tea as quick as she could, without spilling the contents, and hurried back to the door. She could not stand the awkward silence and the judgemental stares that were thrown at her by everyone in the room.

As soon as she was out the door, it was as if water broke free from a dam, since everyone had started to talk at once. She could only make out bits of the hushed conversation, like:

"I'm telling you, Lucius. He's returning to…"

"The mark burned…"

"It's like it used to be…"

"…told you, he'll be back!"

"…the Dark Lord –"

Her breathe got caught in her throat and she stopped mid-step, as she heard the name. It could not be. Was it possible? Was it possible that the Dark Lord would return? Was he not finished the night the Potters were killed?

_This is not possible!_ She thought to herself.

She took no notice that Annika was no longer standing there to eavesdrop. She took no notice of how the argument in the dining room was now rising. All the voices were drowned down by the screaming thoughts running through her mind. Her mind was racing, and all she could hear was the one name that made her blood boil with anger, hatred and disgust for the wizard who owned it. The Dark Lord. Lord Voldemort.

_They are saying he is back. They fear his return. The mark…? What mark? Are they talking about the Dark Mark I had read about in history books?_

All these thoughts were racing in her mind, and she did not even notice Draco enter the hallway. She did not hear him calling her name until he shook her.

"Nastya?!" he whisper-shouted, so as not to alert the people in the meeting, while he shook her by the shoulders.

"Huh?" she mumbled stupidly, as she snapped out of the trance she was in, "What? Did you need anything?"

"No," he replied, while staring at her with a strange look, "I don't need anything. But you look like you've seen a ghost. What's wrong?"

Asia furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. He still had his hands on her shoulders and his face was soft and his eyes showed concern; something she had never received from a Malfoy before. She looked from his face to his hands on her shoulders with downright confusion.

_He looks like he is… concerned for… me?_ She thought.

"Why are you concerned, Draco?" she asked in a small, quiet voice.

As soon as she said that, it was as if a switched was flipped because Draco's expression immediately changed from concerned and soft to impassive and cold. He let go of her shoulders as if she had burnt him and even took a couple of steps back.

"If you didn't want to answer, you could've said so," he snapped, making her jump, which as a result produced a hint on an amused smile on his face, that shocked her even more, "I was trying to be an older brother."

And with that, he turned around and went back the way he came from, without giving her a second glance, but letting Asia see a growing smile on his face, without intending to do so.

Asia stood there for a few seconds, trying to process what exactly happened. She felt a smile of her own grow on her face. And for the first time in her life, it was because of a Malfoy. Draco Malfoy, her older brother.

But that was until she remembered exactly why Draco had been concerned for her. Her smile dropped as she thought about the dangers that could come along with Lord Voldemort's return. Harry's life would be in danger once again. More muggles and muggle-borns' lives would be in danger. Father was a Death Eater before Voldemort fell, so it is highly possible that if he returns, Asia would be forced to serve the man she hated with all her heart, even more than Father. There were so many other things that could happen with the return of the wizard who caused the death of her parents and many other innocent people. With that thought she started to walk back to the kitchen, where she would wait till Father or Mother would call her to clean up the dining room.

She was already exhausted and she had to wake up really early tomorrow morning to get Annika's trunk ready and also get her school stuff before leaving for the World Cup. On top of that, her everyday house chores and special preparations for the World Cup had to be made. She wanted to be fresh and alert during the match, so that she could record everything in her memory without forgetting a single detail. With everything she had heard and all that was going on in her mind, she was afraid she would fall asleep during the match. Her head had started to hurt now.

She decided to ignore the thoughts about Lord Voldemort that invaded her mind, and enjoy her birthday and the World Cup, before worrying about _him_ and school. For the first time in years, she was about to do something fun on her birthday and she was not going to let an evil and coward of a dark wizard to ruin it for her. She would enjoy it to her fullest and keep it in her memories as one of the rare happy days of her life. All she hoped for was nothing to go wrong during the World Cup.

"Nastya!"

The sound of someone yelling for her made Asia jump so high that she fell off the stool she was sitting on, asleep, with her head on the kitchen island. She stood up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and blocked a yawn with the other hand, as she walked towards the dining room.

When she got there, all the men were walking out into the living room, with Father and Mother behind them. She had thought that staying up for so long would have stressed them out and they would have a tired look on their faces. But instead, she noticed they were more alert now than they were before the meeting.

"Go clean up the mess," Mother instructed.

Asia nodded and walked past them to clean up all the mess they had made. It took her half an hour to finish washing the dishes and wiping off all the crumbs from the dining table.

By the time Asia got back into bed, it was already two in the morning and she had a chance to get only four hours of sleep. She relished in the fact that at least she got a chance to sleep, and closed the closet door, blew out the candle that was almost out anyway, and closed her eyes waiting for a peaceful sleep to take over.

And sleep did come, but it was far from peaceful. She had a dream. A nightmare. She dreamt about Lord Voldemort. She dreamt of how he murdered the Potters; though how and why she saw that, she was not sure. But, she dreamt about him murdering many other people, more than half of who she did not even recognize. Then she saw hooded figures. Masked figures walking in a sea of tents in the dark. People screaming, as they ran away from them. A few scared and helpless looking people being levitated by the masked figures. Bullying and getting amused at their expense.

She woke up breathing heavily with sweat running down her back and forehead. The last thing she remembered about the nightmare was a flash of red and green, Harry standing opposite who she guessed was Voldemort, wands raised while they duelled. She was not sure what the dream meant, however.

"Was it an image from the future or was it just a hallucinated imagination due my fear of what is to come?" she whispered to herself, still breathing deeply.

This dream was different from any she had ever had; which was very often ever since she turned eleven. With no idea what they meant, she kept quiet about them. She did not even have the guts to tell to anyone, too scared of what she would find in their reactions.

At the beginning of her first year, she had dreamt such a dream for the first time. She had considered them to be nothing more than a result of her anxiety, exhaustion and excitement regarding the fact that it was the start of a new chapter of her life. But, little did she know, they were images of the future. Everything that concerned Harry and his future was visible to her through such images and flashes.

She had seen so many things… found out so much… every moment of his life at Hogwarts was etched into her brain before it even happened. It was hard to understand the reason she never got images of his time with his Muggle relatives; but what she got, was more than enough:

Neville's Remembrall; Draco's trap to get Harry and his friends in trouble; the three-headed dog, Fluffy; Nimbus Two-thousand from Professor McGonagall; the Troll in the bathroom; Harry's first Quidditch match; Nicholas Flamel; Professor Dumbledore talking about the Mirror of Erised…

_Harry's entire life at Hogwarts... I might be able to see more. Will his future be darker now? With the rumours of Voldemort being back…_

All this thinking was bringing another headache, so she shook all these thoughts and checked the clock beside her bed to see that she had slept only for two hours. She knew she would not be able to get anymore sleep, so she got off the bed and left her closet to start her day earlier than usual in an effort to forget about the dream. But it was impossible to forget the faces of all the people who had died in her dream and the image of Harry fighting Voldemort. Half an hour later, Asia was bathed, and now feeling a little fresh, she had come to the verdict that she would ignore the feeling of dread trying to grip at her heart and prepare herself a nice breakfast for the first time in years, and then start on her daily chores.

It was her fourteenth birthday after all. She deserved as much.


	6. Chapter 5

Hogwarts' Cinderella

**Chapter 5: Mrs. Weasley**

A few hours later, at almost eight, Asia was done with all her daily chores and was now setting up the dining table for breakfast, before returning to do the rest of the preparations for the World Cup. She only had another hour and a half to complete the extra chores before they left for Diagon Alley to buy Annika and Draco's dress robes, and her own school supplies. She had to pack a backpack for Annika, which she would be taking to with her to today's match, and she also had to finish ironing the rest of Annika's clothes that she would be taking to Hogwarts with her.

After she made sure that the Malfoys had everything they needed for their breakfast, she headed to the laundry house, in the backyard, and continued with the ironing she had left incomplete yesterday. Draco's laundry was done and ironed two days ago, and apparently he had already packed his stuff so he did not need any more assistance.

It took her another half an hour to finish ironing and folding all of Annika's clothes and as soon as she did, she rushed to the dining room where the Malfoys would be finished with their breakfast, and she would be required to clean up the mess and wash the dishes. She was quite surprised, though, to find no trace of dirty dishes or leftover breakfast at the table when she arrived to the room. She was sure it could not be Dobby, as he had to look for a job and he had already done this for her yesterday along with giving her an early birthday present.

She turned around and left the dining room to have a look if the dishes were in the kitchen, but once again, she was left surprised as all the dishes were clean and were displayed on the shelves like Asia always arranged them. Someone had definitely done this for her, but she was not quite sure who would do such a thing in the Malfoy Manor. She felt a little suspicious that this could be another trap of Annika's that always resulted in Asia being punished for something she had never done. So ignoring all of the strange happenings, she entered her closet, in the hope that she might find Dobby sitting on her bed smiling like the cheeky blighter he was.

However, what she saw there surprised her more than Dobby being there could have. On her bed, there was a box, covered in golden wrap and tied with red ribbons: the colors of Gryffindor.

_Who could have left this here? _She thought.

Asia could already feel another headache making its way through, so she ignored all the questions and opened the package to find a black and white dress with satin slippers of the same color and a letter addressed to her. Ignoring the letter, Asia unfolded it and stared at it amazed at the simple but beautiful dress. It was not extravagant, but it looked perfect to her in every aspect. It was her size and the same could be said about the slippers. It reached her feet, was made of plain chiffon, with a white belt as the only accessory to go along with it. The entire middle was black on both the front and the back side, while the sides were white, including the sleeves.

She glanced back at the box and realized she forgot to open the letter that came along with the dress. Keeping the dress on the bed, she opened the letter and read:

_Dear Nastya,_

_ Happy Birthday…_

_ Your older brother,_

_ Draco_

_P.S. I hope you do consider me it._

When she was finished, it took her a few moments to wrap her head around the fact that Draco remembered her birthday and he even bought her a present. It felt as though she had stopped breathing for those few moments. She stared at the letter and the dress, thinking if it was true or a prank. But the handwriting on the letter was Draco's, so it must be true that Draco did this for her out of brotherly affection which she had longed for throughout the past few years.

"Nastya!" came Annika's yelling voice, once again disrupting Asia's little rejoicing moment, "Get out here in five seconds, Nastya, or I'll make you!"

Asia heaved a huge sigh as she stuffed the dress, slippers and the letter into her bag and hurried out to the entrance hall. As she reached there, Annika was standing beside the door with her arms crossed across her chest in a haughty manner as if Asia had made her wait for an hour, when in reality it was only a minute.

"Finally, Her Royal Highness decides to grace us with her presence," Annika taunted as soon as she saw Asia.

"You are lucky we are leaving, or you would have got a very effective lesson for –"

"Mother," Draco interrupted Mother, "Aren't we already late? Stop wasting time on her and let's go."

"Humph," Mother hummed, "Alright, let's go then."

They all started to walk out and Asia looked at Draco with a grateful smile which surprised him but he nodded nevertheless and gestured for her to walk ahead. Asia walked beside Annika who looked at her with a glare and sped up to walk beside Mother.

A few minutes later they were walking into Diagon Alley towards _Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions_ where they would get dress robes and uniforms for Annika, Draco and only a uniform for Asia. On the way, Asia and Draco got separated from Mother and Annika which gave Draco and Asia a chance to talk.

"Thank you, Draco," Asia started the inevitable conversation.

"What for?" he questioned shortly.

Asia smiled a small smile knowing very well how detached Draco wanted to act, when really he was a sweet and caring brother deep inside.

"For the birthday surprise," she answered in a small voice, "I have never received a birthday present before and you made it a really special one for me. So, thank you."

"I –"

Asia glanced at him to see him already staring at her, with his face soft and a small smile adjourned on his lips. She rarely saw this look on his face anymore. The look that made her feel as if he was vulnerable and lost.

Asia glanced ahead to see Mother and Annika waiting for them at the doors of _Madam Malkin's_ so she decided to end the conversation and move ahead.

"You do not have to say anything, Draco. Just – thanks."

Saying this she sped up and walked up to the annoyed duo.

"This crowd is so annoying," Draco huffed as he reached them, resulting in Mother to forget her annoyance and just leading them inside.

Asia simply smiled and followed Mother because she knew from now on Draco would do such small favours for her that would save her from being taunted, teased and abused like before.

It had already been an hour and Annika had still not found a dress worthy of her. Asia was tired and she felt sleepy now because of sleeping only for two hour the previous night. Draco, on the other hand, had already left to visit the Quidditch store after buying his dress robes more than half an hour ago. Asia felt worried as she had to buy her own school supplies now and there was not much time. She was waiting for a miracle to happen so that she would be allowed to leave and buy her things.

And a miracle did happen, as if her wish was granted. Not even a minute later, the doors to the shop opened and made way for a plump, red-head woman. Asia recognized her immediately as she was the mother of one of the Golden Trio, Mrs Weasley. She smiled as soon as she saw Asia standing beside the cashier counter, and walked up to her and hugged her very tightly. Asia was not shocked with the hug, knowing fairly much about the loving mother's habits, so she hugged her back.

"Oh it's so good to see you again, Asia," said Mrs Weasley as she pulled away and beamed at her.

"Good to see you too, Mrs Weasley," Asia replied, "How is Mr. Weasley?"

"He's perfectly fine, sweetheart," she smiled again, "He mentioned a few days ago how he wishes to see you again!"

Her words reminded Asia of their first meeting at Hogwarts in her second year when Ginny had been taken to the Chamber of Secrets and Asia had helped Harry and Ron find a way inside. Asia had been really worried for the little girl who had become quite close to her.

Asia remembered the way Ginny and her had become friends over the conversation of being lonely even in a place full of people. She remembered how Ginny had become isolated a little while through the year. She remembered how she had seen Hermione brew a Polyjuice Potion in the girls' bathroom on the first floor. She remembered visiting the same bathroom to find Hermione looking like a cat; she had stayed for the entire hour to talk with her so she would not get scared. She also remembered finding the entrance to the Chamber in one of her visits to the bathroom in her first year and the way she had told Harry and Ron about it when they took Lockhart to rescue Ginny.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had been ecstatic when they had returned with Ginny. Asia had become to them like Harry and Hermione that night. The last time she had met them was at King's Cross before this summer.

The sound of someone clearing their throat caused Asia to look away from Mrs. Weasley. It was Mother who was staring at them with contempt, so Mrs. Weasley let go of Asia and smiled a tight smile at Mother.

"Hello, Mrs. Malfoy," she said to her.

"Hmm," was her reply as she looked at Asia threateningly and turned her attention back to Annika who stood their looking annoyed, in a hideous bright pink gown that made her look like a clown, as all the attention had been diverted from her to the two hugging. Mrs. Weasley looked Asia and smiled a real smile once again.

"I have to buy some dress robes, so I'll talk to you in a bit?" she asked Asia, who smiled and nodded in return.

Mrs. Weasley turned away from her and went to have a look at some men's dress robes, while Asia looked at Mother and Annika.

"Here's some money," said Mother dumping a small pouch in her hands, "Go and buy yourself some school supplies. And remember not to buy anything that will embarrass your sister and brother at school," she whispered threateningly, "Come, Annika dear," she turned to an annoyed looking Annika, "We'll go to Twillfit and Tattings to look for something better."

Asia was glad that Mrs. Weasley had come at that moment as she knew very well how annoyed Mother had become at seeing them so close to each other. Her annoyance of Asia reminded her that even she had to buy her supplies, so she decided to give her some money and get away from both of them.

Asia walked over to the uniform section, right as Mother and Annika walked out of the shop, and tried on a few sizes, realizing she had grown a couple inches during the summer in the process. She went and purchased a few robes, picked up her bags and walked toward the doors. She realized that Mrs. Weasley was still inside, looking for robes through some racks of dress robes. She decided to help her out so she walked over to her.

"Mrs Weasley," she said as she reached her, making her jump, "Sorry, did not mean to startle you."

"Oh, it's no problem at all, dear," she replied with a smile.

"I was wondering if you needed any help?" she asked her, "I mean, I can see you are looking for some dress robes, so maybe I can help?"

"Of course, dear," Mrs Weasley replied, "I was looking for dress robes to get for Harry, you see. I have gotten everyone uniforms and all, Harry needs dress robes. Maybe you can help."

Asia's stomach did a strange flip inside as she nodded and started to look for dress robes she knew would look good on Harry.

While rifling through one of the racks, her eyes fell upon a pair of dress robes hanging on a rack behind the one she was looking through. It was completely black and had bright green lining on the hem and the edges of the coat's collar and cuffs. She imagined Harry in them and and saw his eyes shining and the black contrasting with his skin colour.

_This would be perfect,_ she thought happily and pulled the dress robes off the rack.

A few minutes later, Asia and Mrs Weasley walked out of the shop with the dress robes Asia had suggested.

"Mrs Weasley," Asia said once they were outside, "You do not mind to shop with me and guide me through the shops, do you?" she asked politely.

"Of course not, dear," she replied, "Come on. I have to go to _Flourish and Blotts_ and then many others. I need some company. All the others have already left for the World Cup early in the morning. Which reminds me, aren't you lot going to the World Cup?"

"Oh, we will," Asia replied, "Right after we drop our purchases back at the Man – I mean home, then we will leave for the World Cup. Are you not going, Mrs. Weasley?"

"No, dear," she replied, choosing to ignore Asia's tongue slip, "I don't really like Quidditch. Besides, I had to buy the kids' supplies for the year."

Asia did not find it surprising that Mrs. Weasley did not like Quidditch as much as most of her kids. Percy Weasley was just like her in that aspect too.

Another two hours later, Asia and Mrs. Weasley had been to _Amanuensis Quills_, _Eeylopes Owl Emporium_, _Flourish and Blotts_, _the Second-hand robe shop_, _Slug & Jiggers Apothecary_, and _Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment_. Their hands were full of supplies and they were tired and exhausted. Even though they had been doing loads of work, they also had fun while chatting and doing funny things in the shops. Asia enjoyed acting like the kid she really was and she had not laughed this much in a long time, while Mrs Weasley enjoyed becoming a kid once again with Asia.

At the end of all the shopping, Mrs. Weasley suggested having an ice-cream causing Asia to protest. Asia did not want to spend any more money because she knew Mother would want back any money she had not spend to buy her supplies. She could not treat herself to an ice-cream, so Mrs Weasley decided to buy her one without questioning anything. It seemed to Asia that even though she was aware of the way she was treated by her foster family, she did not want to embarrass Asia any further by talking about it. Asia was grateful to Mrs Weasley for this.

_This is the best birthday ever_, Asia thought to herself as she and Mrs Weasley sat outside _Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour_ waiting for their ice cream to arrive.

"What are you thinking, Asia?" asked Mrs Weasley at noticing her getting lost in thoughts.

"Just thinking how this is the best birthday I have had since forever," she replied without thinking.

"It's your birthday today?!" Mrs Weasley screamed, grabbing the attention of many passer-by's and also the owner of the shop, "And you didn't tell me this the entire time?"

"I kind of, forgot," Asia whispered.

"Excuse me?" called someone from beside Mrs Weasley, "I heard it's the young lady's birthday?"

"Yes. Yes it is," Mrs Weasley replied to the owner of the shop, Mr Fortescue.

"Well then, I would like to give you your ice cream for free as a birthday present," he said while placing their ice creams in front of them, "Happy birthday, and enjoy!" he smiled and walked away, back to his desk.

"Well, happy birthday, Asia," Mrs Weasley said while taking a bite of her ice-cream and smirking at Asia.

They both laughed and had a light conversation over their ice-creams. They left after a few more minutes after finishing and headed toward _Twillfit and Tattings_, where Asia was sure Annika would still be deciding her dress.

By the time Asia reached _Twillfit and Tattings,_ Mother was paying for Annika's dress and consoling her that she would send her accessories and jewellery by owl within a week. Mrs Weasley had left Asia at the doors of the shop and headed towards the _Leaky Cauldron_ after hugging her once again.

Draco was already seated in one of the couches beside windows looking as bored as ever. He looked a little tensed to Asia when she entered. As if feeling Asia's stare, he looked up to find her by the door. He heaved a sigh and visibly relaxed at seeing her there. Though Asia could not tell if this was because he was worried for her or he was frustrated at being alone with Annika and Mother for so long in a dress shop. Asia suppressed a smile at the thought and turned to Mother who was now turning to the doors after paying for the dress robes. When she spotted Asia by the door, her smile dropped and she extended her hand towards Asia. To anyone who would be looking at them now, it would look as if a Mother is asking her daughter to hold her hand, but Asia knew better. Mother was asking her to hand over the remaining money.

So Asia did what she had been doing for the past few years and she handed the remaining money over to Mother and watched as she counted the left over Galleons. It seemed as if Mother was satisfied with the amount Asia had returned so she started to walk out of the shop, with the rest following.


	7. Chapter 6

Hogwarts' Cinderella

**Chapter 6: 422****nd**** Quidditch World Cup**

It was an hour after noon, by the time Asia and the three Malfoys reached the Manor. Asia had to get back into action as soon as she stepped foot inside the Manor. First, she rushed with her own stuff to the kitchen and into her closet where she dumped all her bags and boxes on her bed. She knew she would have to pack her things after getting back from the World Cup.

Then, she went up to Annika's room, unpacked, and packed the new purchases into her trunk. All the while Asia packed her stuff for her, Annika could simply not shut up about how unfortunate Asia is.

"I feel so bad for you, Nastya. You won't be able to enjoy the ball while we all go down and enjoy it..."

Asia just tuned her out and concentrated on packing not responding to anything, not that Annika needed her to respond.

A few torturous minutes later, Asia was done with Annika's belongings, so she hurried out of her room only to bump into Draco who looked surprised at how flustered Asia looked.

"What -" he started to ask but he glanced behind Asia, at Annika's bedroom door, and understanding dawned on him as he started to chuckle at how annoyed Asia looked.

"Do not. Do not say a word, Draco," she threatened him as he opened his mouth to utter a remark that Asia knew would only annoy her more.

"Okay," he said as he put his hands beside his head, as if surrendering, "I won't say a word."

"Thank you," she sighed, "Did you need anything?"

"Oh, I almost forgot," he said while running a hand through his hair, "Are you busy?"

"When am I not?" Asia replied with raised eye brow.

"Right," he sighed, "I was wondering if you're free, could you make me a cup of tea?"

"Draco, since when did you need to ask me if I am busy or not? Just tell me if you need anything. I will bring tea to your room in five minutes, if that is not too long?" said Asia.

"No, that's perfectly fine," he replied hastily, "Thanks."

"You are welcome," Asia replied with a smile, "Now go before anyone sees you with me."

With that, Asia walked down to the kitchen to prepare a cup of tea for Draco and for herself as she felt another headache making its way in.

Half an hour later, Asia stood waiting at the foot of the stairs for Mother, Draco, Annika, and Father (who had returned from work before they had returned from Diagon Alley) to come down. It was time for the portkey to leave in a few more minutes and Asia was excited. Father had booked a separate portkey for them as he did not intend to walk anywhere in an ungodly hour of the morning with anyone he considered below himself.

They had eaten their lunch a few minutes ago, prepared by the house elves, which had taken Asia by surprise, as she had to prepare lunch today like every day. One of the house elves told her, when questioned, that Draco had asked them to make lunch. A sweet gesture that made Asia smile and a little relaxed as she had a little more time to prepare herself for their departure.

She had decided to wear the dress Draco had gifted her instead of her old white dress that was full of rags. Asia admitted to herself that even without any extra accessories and make-up, she did look nice. She decided to let her hair stay open as she thought they looked nice as the loose, black curls cascaded down to her waist.

While waiting for the others to come down, Asia looked at her reflection in one of the mirrors in the hallway between the kitchen and the living room. She noticed that after such a long time, her usually dull, brown eyes had a twinkle in them making them look a brighter shade of brown. It made her realize just how excited she was for tonight's match. She also thought about how well this birthday turned out to be for her this year, and she hoped that nothing would go wrong.

A minute later, she heard Mother and Father coming down the stairs, so she hurried to the living room, and behind them, she saw Annika and Draco. They all looked as elegant as ever. Annika was dressed in a beautiful black dress that had silver ornaments all over it. It looked more of a dress one would wear to a ball rather than to an occasion as vibrant as the World Cup. Draco, too, wore a suit that suggested that he was going for a business meeting. Mother and Father wore their usual dress robes they wore everywhere.

Asia noticed how Draco's face lit up when he saw her standing at the foot of the stairs wearing his gift. He smiled a smile that caused her to smile back inevitably.

"Where did you get that dress?" Annika interrupted their little moment with a sneer.

"Err -" Asia racked her brain for an answer that would be acceptable for Father, Mother and Annika.

"I bought her that dress," spoke Draco, confidently.

"You?" asked Father, in the same monotonous voice that sent chills down Asia's spine, "Why, exactly, Draco?"

"You didn't expect her to show up at the World Cup in her old rags, did you?" he replied, as he stared at Asia with a fake sneer, "I did us a favour by getting her a dress that would not result in her causing us humiliation in front of so many respectable people from the Ministry."

Asia tried really hard to hide the smile that was threatening to show itself on her face as she stared back at Draco, who was having a hard time trying to maintain that sneer, himself.

"That was really smart of you, Draco," said Mother, "I wouldn't expect anything else from her anyway," She sneered, "But you did well."

Father nodded and walked down the rest of the way with a glare on his face that was directed at Asia. Asia looked away from him that had left him satisfied as he smirked and pushed past her out the main doors.

Mother and Annika followed him, while Draco stopped in front of Asia and smiled apologetically.

"Sorry, Nastya," he said to her as he gestured for her to walk ahead of him, "I had to do that."

"It is alright, Draco," Asia replied while walking to the doors, "I told you I am used to this. But it was quite funny watching you try to keep that sneer on your face," she gave a slight chuckle.

"Yeah, I guessed that much," he replied with a chuckle.

They reached the portkey that was a bottle of mead, in the driveway, and proceeded to touch it with their fingers as it had already started to turn blue. Mother and Father stood on one side while Annika stood on the other. Draco pushed Asia a little to hurry up, and she walked a little faster to stand beside Annika and touched the bottle. Draco touched the bottle at the last minute as they had already started to feel the ground falling away from their feet. Asia knew this feeling very well as it was not the first time she was travelling by portkey.

Though she did remember the very first time she had. It was a nightmare as she had ended up falling on the already dishevelled Annika. She had spent nearly ten minutes simply yelling at Asia for spreading all the germs from her unwashed body over her body. Even though Annika knew as well as her and Draco that Asia had taken a bath just a few minutes ago, she still complained about this to Father, resulting in a punishment that had always reminded Asia to keep her feet rooted to the ground when travelling by portkey.

They had landed on a deserted hill. Asia looked around and saw a pair of exhausted and grumpy-looking wizards, one of whom was holding a large gold watch, the other a thick roll of parchment and a quill. They both were dressed in what Asia guessed would be Muggle clothing.

"Five past two from Malfoy Manor," said the man who was wearing a tweed suit.

Father walked up to the man and greeted him, "Hello, Basil. Can I know about our tents?"

"Just a second Mr Malfoy," he replied as he looked through his thick roll of parchment, "Walk all the way, half a mile in that direction," he said while pointing to the right, "It's the second field, and the site manager's Mr Payne."

"Thank you, Basil," Father said, while gesturing for the rest to head in that direction.

After about thirty minutes, they had reached a gate with a small cottage beside it beyond which Asia could see hundreds of tents and thousands of people milling around wearing robes of every colour and style. Asia longed to be one of them, but she knew her desires to get rid of her foster family for the night would have to wait till they have found their tents and settled in.

Asia also noticed that there was a man standing beside the gate and the way he was staring at the tents, she knew immediately that he was a Muggle. This only meant unpleasant conversation. She looked at Father who was throwing contemptuous looks at the Muggle, and she grew nervous by the second. What happened next surprised her:

Father stopped and turned around to face Asia with a disgusted look on his face.

"You," he spat pointing at Asia, "Go and talk with that filthy Mudblood, and find out where are our tents."

Asia smothered a gasped that she was about to make at the open use of such a horrible word. Nevertheless she nodded and started to walk towards the man who was now staring at them weirdly. She knew that the way they were dressed made him suspicious about them.

"Any smartness and you will suffer," Father threw one last threat at her as she walked wordlessly past him to the Muggle.

"Good afternoon!" Asia said, trying to sound cheerful.

"Good afternoon," he replied with a smile of his own.

Her cheerfulness had apparently worked.

"Are you Mr Payne?" Asia asked politely, still smiling.

"Yes. Yes, I am Mr Payne," said Mr Payne, "How can I help you?"

"My name is Anastasia Malfoy," she said, "My father had booked two tents, probably a couple days ago?"

He consulted his list and said, "Yes, you have a spot close to the woods. Is it only for the night?"

"Yes."

"Are you paying now or tomorrow before leaving?" he asked.

"Umm..." she glanced back at Father, "Let me go and ask."

Asia hurried back to Father who was standing there looking impatient, "Well?" he snapped.

"He is asking if we are paying now or tomorrow before leaving," she told him nervously.

"Here," he replied coldly, as he produced a stack of Muggle currency from his robes, "Pay him, and hurry up."

"Yes, Father," she replied, as she felt the Muggle's stare on her back.

"How much?" Asia asked as she reached him.

"Twenty-three pounds," he replied as he closely scrutinized her.

"Here," she said when she found the right currency.

Before Mr Payne could say another word, Asia ran over to Father.

"He said our tents are next to the woods over there," She said as she pointed towards the left side of the field where a few tents were scattered next to a wood.

"Let's go then," Father said and started to lead the group through the gates.

"Father," Asia called, making him stop and turn sharply, "Here. The rest of the money."

She extended her hand full of the Muggle notes for him to take the money from her. She did not want him to blame her later for theft and hit her again.

"I don't need a proof that I had something that belongs to some filth like these Muggles," he spat at her, "Keep them. Filth like this belongs to someone like you."

With that he turned around and started to walk again with Annika and Mother following.

"Well, seems like you have yourself some shopping to do," whispered Draco as he walked by Asia.

She smiled at the thought of being able to do some shopping, but then remembered that she could do no shopping as long as she was with her foster family. Besides, Muggle money could buy her nothing of significance.

A few minutes later, after passing tents of every type, they reached their destination. It was an average looking tent that could fit two people. Though Asia was a little surprised how ordinary they looked. She was quite sure Father would never settle for something as ordinary and small as this.

"That tent is yours," Father said to Draco and Annika, pointing at a slightly larger tent beside the first one, "Go and get settled, we will be leaving to go to the field an hour after sunset. You can do what you like till then."

It seemed to Asia that he was saying this only to Annika and Draco. He would not be bothered about what Asia would do in her spare time anyway. She decided to ask Mother if she could leave too. But before she could say anything Draco spoke up.

"Father, could you please ask Nastya to leave us alone in our tent till we have to leave?" he asked Father.

"Of course, Draco," he replied dryly to him and turned his sharp eyes to Asia, "Do as Draco says, and keep your ugly face out of our sights till we have to leave to go to the field after sunset. Go"

He and Mother turned away from them and disappeared inside their tent, and while the same could be said about Annika, Draco decided to stop and talk to Asia before going inside.

"Here," he said as he handed her a small pouch, "Buy yourself some souvenirs and spend the time enjoying yourself. There's some money inside this pouch. I wouldn't mind if you spend the entire contents."

Asia smiled but shook her head, "I would never spend your money for my own pleasure, Draco. Father gave these to you."

"I don't care if you don't want to," he snapped at her jokingly, "Take it and if I see that you have not spend a single Galleon, I will punish you!"

Asia chuckled at his antics and took the pouch from his hand, "Thank you again, Draco."

"I told you it was not a problem," he smiled back and walked inside the tent.

Asia put the pouch in her backpack and followed Draco into the tent. As she had suspected, the tent was a fairly huge size from the inside. There were three bedrooms, a kitchen with complete appliances and supplies, a bathroom and a living room. It was an apartment with complete amenities one could need to stay in it for as long as they wanted.

Asia dumped her bag on the bed and walked into the kitchen to grab herself a snack for the few hours she would be out. She picked up an apple and a banana from the kitchen island and walked back to her bed to grab her bag and left the tent after waving goodbye to Draco who was sitting in the living room, reading a book. She had no idea where Annika had gone to and she wanted it to stay that way, so she left without another glance behind.

She was eager to look everywhere and drink in the scenery of people of every ethnicity and race mingling around in tents of every shape and size. There were merchants selling souvenirs of the countries playing the finals. Asia had a look at every type of merchandise, but yet she did not have the courage to buy anything with Draco's money. She decided to keep the money for something that would catch her eye as the best merchandise around the area.

While on her tour, she came across many of her fellow Hogwarts' students who, like her, were enjoying this opportunity of having fun before school started. She met Cedric Diggory, the Hufflepuff Seeker who would be starting his seventh year this time back at Hogwarts. Asia had the fortune of coming across him many times at the Quidditch pitch when she would go down for riding her broom. They were very well acquainted and he considered her like a little sister, as he had none for himself. Asia liked him too, she considered him the older brother Draco had never been.

She walked further to come across the first field which she had crossed with the Malfoys while they were looking for their own tent field. This field was as crowded as the second one. She came across more of her fellow students from Hogwarts in this field than from the previous one. She met Seamus Finnigan, the Irish whose mother did not let Asia go until reassured that she was supporting Ireland.

"Hey, Asia!" she heard someone call while walking between tents.

"Oliver!" Asia exclaimed when she saw Oliver Wood grinning at her, "Hi!"

Oliver Wood, the Gryffindor Quidditch team Captain from last year. He had been one for a few years now and had graduated last year.

"It's great to see you again," he said to her with a one-armed hug, "Come, I want you to meet my parents."

"Ok," Asia said with a smile as Oliver grabbed her arm and led her from between a few tents to a small white tent where a man and a woman were busy cooking something on the fire.

"Mother, Father," Oliver called and they looked up curiously at them, "This is Anastasia Malfoy. Remember I told you about her?"

Realization dawned on them as they both stood up and looked at Asia from head-to-toe. They had big smiles on their faces as they did so.

"So you are the shy one, eh?" Mr Wood questioned.

"It is nice to meet you, Mr and Mrs Wood," said Asia, politely, "And call me Asia, everyone does."

"Nice to finally meet you too, Asia," replied Mrs Wood, "Oliver has not stopped talking about your flying skills all these years. He says that he used to observe you almost every day since he found your exceptional skills."

The comment caused Asia to blush under the realization that Oliver had been watching her all this time. She looked up at him and gave him a look.

"What?" he said defensively, "It was hard not to watch. I mean, you fly so well!"

"I am joking, Oliver," Asia chuckled, "No need to go all defensive."

She heard Mr and Mrs Wood chuckling at them so she looked up and smiled at them.

"Who are you lot supporting?" Asia asked them.

"Ireland, of course!" yelled Oliver.

They all laughed at his childish behaviour.

"What are you doing now that you have graduated, Oliver?" Asia asked carrying on the conversation as she sat beside Mrs Wood on a log beside the fire.

"I just signed with the Puddlemore United recently, for the reserve team," He stated proudly, "I couldn't be more excited to start working with them!"

Asia smiled at seeing how excited he really was for his latest achievement and many more to come.

"Congratulations, Oliver. I can see how excited you are to begin your life out of school," Asia remarked.

"Yeah," he chuckled, and then suddenly said, "Harry said the same thing, you know."

"Harry? Harry who?" she asked him suddenly feeling warm.

"How many Harry's do you know, Asia?" he joked with her, "Harry Potter, of course. Remember? Remember how you went to the girls' bathroom, in your first year, to save Hermione Granger, and the same Harry came in with Ron Weasley and helped you with the troll? And do you also remember, in the same year, you went with the same three kids to the restricted third floor? Oooh! And in your second year, you went to the Chamber of Secrets with him? And I remember very well that you had another adventure with him last year, but I don't really know -"

"Alright!" Asia interrupted him, "I remember now."

"I know you do," he smirked at how flustered she looked under the impressed gazes of his parents.

"Anyway," Asia desperately tried to change the subject, "He is here? Harry, I mean?"

"Yeah. Potter, with Weasley and Granger," he replied.

"Oh," was all she could manage as she imagined bumping into Harry while her exploration.

They continued their conversation with a few jokes here and there and Asia felt at ease just like she did with Mrs Weasley earlier at Diagon Ally.

It was true. Asia had been on many adventures with Harry and his two best friends in the past three years. To save the philosopher's stone in the first year, then to save Ginny in their second year, then last year to save Sirius Black who, later Asia found out, was Harry's Godfather and was also innocent of all the crimes. Despite these adventures, Asia had tried her best to keep herself away from the trio, in the effort to keep herself from getting any emotional pain.

(A/N: I will post a chapter sometime after the ones about the World Cup that summarizes all that had happened in the past three years of Anastasia's life in Hogwarts and her adventures with the Golden Trio. It will also include her time before Hogwarts at the Malfoy Manor.)

Asia looked around her and she noticed that the sun had already started to set, so she decided to walk around a little more before returning to the Malfoy's tents. She wished Oliver good luck and congratulated Mr and Mrs Wood on their son's success, and walked away further into the field full of many more tents and vendors.

She saw a fellow fourth year from the Hufflepuff house, Ernie Macmillan, with who Asia guessed were his parents, at a tent and waved to him as she walked beside them. He waved back and Asia walked further away. She was almost near the other end of the fields, when she heard a few voices she thought she recognized. She walked a little closer to the two tents where she heard those voices coming from.

Upon reaching, she saw a few red heads sitting around a small fire between the two tents with one black and one brown-haired person. She realized who she had found and she smiled while rushing over to the group of people she had longed to see all summer: the Weasleys, Hermione and Harry.

She saw Ginny Weasley sitting with her back facing her, and Hermione sitting opposite her. Walking a little closer she gestured at Hermione to be quiet by putting a finger to her lips, as she had seen her sneaking up on the lot. Hermione smiled and shook her head before turning away and continuing her conversation with Ronald Weasley. They were all about to begin their dinner.

Asia snuck up behind Ginny and covered her eyes with her hands. She felt her jump a little from the impact of her cold hands, but she did not make a move to turn around. She could feel all eyes on her now, but still ignored them and whispered, "Guess who, Ginevra Weasley?"

"Only one person other than my own family, Harry and Hermione knows my real name," Ginny giggled, "Asia!"

Asia chuckled and let go of her as she turned around and jumped up to hug her. She could hear the laughs of all the others around them.

"Oh, my goodness, Asia! I would have never guessed that I would find you here!" Ginny squealed into Asia's ear.

"Ow! Ginny!" Asia said, with a wince due to the impact of her squeal.

Ginny let go of her and giggled again when she saw Asia rubbing her ear, "Oops!" she chirped.

Asia mock glared at Ginny and smiled only a second after. She turned to see Mr Weasley beaming at her from behind Ginny.

"Asia!" he said, "You wouldn't believe it if I told you that I mentioned to everyone just a few days ago that I wanted to meet you so badly."

"I do believe you, Mr Weasley," Asia replied with a smile, "I met Mrs Weasley at Diagon Alley this morning and she has already informed me about your desire to meet me. How are you?"

"I'm very well, Asia. How are you?"

"I am better now," she replied happily.

Mr Weasley gave a hearty laugh at her reply and welcomed her into their little group. Asia exchanged pleasantries with everyone. She saw two new people in the crowd who, judging by their appearances looked like the two older brothers Ginny had told Asia about, Bill and Charlie.

"Hello," Asia said to them politely, "You must be the two most protective brothers I always hear about from Ginny. I am Anastasia Malfoy, but you can call me Asia. Everyone does."

Asia extended her hand to the one who had longer hair from the two. He grinned back and extended his hand to shake Asia's.

"Bill Weasley. Nice to finally make your acquaintance, Asia," he said.

"Same here," Asia then turned to the other brother who was shorter out of the two and extended her hand towards him, "You must be Charlie."

"The one and only," he replied with a large grin on his face as he shook her hand, "And you are the unfortunate Malfoy who is not really a Malfoy."

"The one and only," Asia replied, using his words with a grin of her own.

He opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by someone from behind her grabbing her arm and turning her around. She looked up, surprised at the sudden action to find Fred and George, grinning down at her, like maniacs.

"How was summer, Asia?" asked Fred.

"It couldn't have been better than ours," said George, answering for her, without giving her a chance to say anything.

"Of course, with git heads like the Malfoys as a foster family -"

"- you were ought to have a bad summer, eh?"

"First, if you ask a question, let the person answer it," Asia said quickly, before either of them could speak another word, "It is never polite to answer a question by yourself that was meant for someone else. Second, do not call my foster family such names. They had a heart to adopt me into their family and give me a home to live in. And last, yes, you assumed right. My summer was absolutely horrible."

"Told ya!" They both chorused, completely ignoring her rant about politeness and name-calling.

Asia heard chuckling from behind her as she sighed and shook her head at their antics. She turned her head to see none other than Harry Potter laughing at the conversation between her and the twins. She smiled timidly at him and looked around to find all the others resuming their conversations and sitting in their original positions. The only place vacant was between Ginny and Harry, so she walked up to them and sat down before Ginny started a conversation with her about her classes this year at Hogwarts.

Ginny was starting her third year this year and was really excited to start Divination, as she had heard many stories from her brothers about the sort of character she is. Mr Weasley had distributed dinner plates to everyone, including Asia despite her protests, and now they were all having dinner over mild conversations Asia was having a very good time, and she was glad she had decided to come this way instead of making her way back to the Malfoys' tents from Oliver's.

The Weasley twins were making jokes about every person that went by and were making dinner a very pleasant one, despite it being a little burned due to Mr Weasley's denial of using magic.

"We also put a bet in," George told Asia from across the fire.

"Really?" Asia said, completely intrigued at what their opinions might be of this match, "What and how much did you bet?"

"We have bet thirty-seven Galleons, fifteen Sickles, three Knuts, and a fake wand" Fred replied, proudly, "that Victor Krum will catch the snitch. But, Ireland will win."

"It is pretty convincing…" Asia replied, quite impressed, "I think you will win this bet, Gred and Forge."

"Really?!" asked Percy, completely dumbfounded that someone like Asia would say such a thing, "Shouldn't you be saying how unwise it was of them to be wasting their money on something as ridiculous as betting?"

"Percy," Asia said, calmly, "I would have said that if they were betting on something really unbelievable and ridiculous. But, what they have said is completely possible. I mean, look at the facts over here. The facts that you love to study, oh-so-dearly. The only asset Bulgaria has is Victor Krum, who is _the_ Seeker. But Ireland has all the other players. They have amazing Chasers and their Keeper is one of the best there are, out there. It is quite obvious, really. Bulgaria is going down in this match. Mark my words."

"I agree with her," said Charlie, smiling at her from beside Mr Weasley, "I told you this before. Ireland's going to nail it this match."

And the conversation continued to change from Quidditch to Harry's arrival at the Burrow a day ago.

"Hey, Anastasia," she heard a whisper from her left; while she was listening to Fred go on about them using Harry's cousin Dudley as a tester for their new product, making her jump.

She turned to see Harry staring at her in amusement, causing her to blush in embarrassment. This made him chuckle, in response making her smile and turn her face away to avoid further embarrassment.

"Sorry," he said to her, after he finished laughing at her, "Didn't mean to startle you."

"It is alright," she replied quietly, "Hi, though."

"Yeah, hi," he said and she could still sense the smile on his face, "How was summer?"

"It was okay," she said as she turned back to her normal colour but still did not look his way.

She was a little hesitant in talking to him as she had wanted to avoid any conversations with him, in the first place. He made her nervous, she would never admit it to anyone, but he did. The fact was that she was really good at keeping her face masked of any emotions; she had learnt to keep an impassive face at all times in the past six years. It took a lot of practice, but she learnt it all the same.

"I'm assuming that the foster family didn't treat you any better than last summer?"

"You assumed right," she replied, while internally laughing at the way he was talking with her.

He was about to speak again when Mr Weasley's voice stopped all conversations going on around the group.

"Alright, you lot!" he spoke loudly, "You all can go and buy yourself souvenirs and other things before returning here. We're leaving for the pitch in an hour and a half. So be back before then. Off you go!"

With that he turned continued collecting empty plates from around the circle. Everyone stood up and so did Asia. She looked around at the others in indecision.

_Should I leave or join them? Will they take me with them? May be Ginny would. But I cannot be too sure. Should I stay and help Mr Weasley with the leftovers and cleaning the dishes?_

Her internal debate ceased when Harry turned to look at her with a smile and asked, "Would you like to come with me, Ron and Hermione before you have to leave to go back to your tent?"

Asia glanced behind her to find that Ginny had already left with Fred and George and Mr Weasley had already finished cleaning up the mess made by the dinner. She turned to look at Harry, Hermione and Ron who were smiling expectantly at her.

"Sure," she replied with a shrug.

_I will leave after buying one of the souvenirs with them,_ she decided and started walking down the path beside Hermione and Harry as Ron led them through a growing crowd of people looking for souvenirs just like them.

"Been saving my pocket money all summer for this," Ron told Harry and Asia a few minutes later, as they strolled through salesmen lined around between tents. Though Ron purchased a dancing shamrock hat and a large green rosette, he also bought a small figure of Viktor Krum, the Bulgarian Seeker. The miniature Krum walked backward and forward over Ron's hand, scowling up at the green rosette above him.

"Wow, look at these!" Harry exclaimed as he hurried over to a cart piled high with what looked like brass binoculars, except that they were covered with all sorts of weird knobs and dials.

"Omnioculars," Asia told him as she came to stand beside him.

"Oh yes!" said the salesman eagerly, "You can replay action… slow everything down… and they flash up a play-by- play breakdown if you need it. Bargain – ten Galleons each."

"Wish I hadn't bought this now," said Ron, gesturing at his dancing shamrock hat and gazing longingly at the Omnioculars.

"Four pairs," said Harry firmly to the wizard.

"No - don't bother," said Ron, going red. Asia knew how touchy he was about the fact that Harry, who had inherited a small fortune from his parents, had much more money than he did.

"No, Harry," Asia said hastily, "I will buy my own!"

"You won't be getting anything for Christmas," Harry told Ron, thrusting Omnioculars into his and Hermione's hands. "For about ten years, mind you."

"Fair enough," said Ron, grinning.

"And you," he turned to Asia with the two remaining Omnioculars, "Your birthday present, so happy birthday!"

With that he grinned and pushed one of the gadgets into her hands. She looked up at him in surprise, not knowing that he knew it was her birthday today.

"Thank you, Harry," she replied quietly which she was sure he would not have heard over the uproar if he was not looking at her.

"You're welcome," he replied, "Now come on. There's so much more to see!"

"Oooh, thanks, Harry," said Hermione. "And I'll get us some programs, look -"

Half an hour later, Asia had bought: a rosette, similar to that of Ron's, but it was green for the Irish team and green Leprechaun's hat. She had finally decided to use the money Draco had given to her, when she saw so many things that she wanted to buy. When asked by Hermione about the money, she told her about Draco beginning to be nice to her, though she looked like she did not believe her for a bit. Asia, however, let it go, knowing no one would believe her until he starts being nice to them as well.

All her souvenirs showed clearly that she was supporting the Irish team and by the time they were done buying what they wanted to, it was time for Asia to go back to the Malfoys' tents. She knew if she was even a couple of minutes late, they would not leave the chance to punish her, so she said good bye to the trio and headed back to the first field, where she knew her foster family would be getting ready to leave.


	8. Chapter 7

Hogwarts' Cinderella

**Chapter 7: The Final Match**

Asia had only reached the tents, when she heard a loud, deep gong sounded from somewhere in the woods, and the pathway that led to the stadium was lit up with green and red lights. She was about to enter the tent she was supposed to stay in when Father and Mother emerged from the tent beside her. She stopped short and stepped a few paces back, not wanting to do anything that could possibly anger Father.

Draco stepped out of the other tent too, followed by Annika, who was covered in souvenirs all red and black. All their eyes landed on Asia who stood I front of them with wide eyes, waiting for insults to begin any second. She saw Father open his mouth to say something, but stopped when Amos Diggory came up to them.

"Well, Malfoy," he said, "Aren't you heading to the stadium, yet?"

"Yes, Amos, we were about to do just that," Father replied smoothly, and without a second glance at Asia he led the way into the pathway, with Mr Diggory and Mother beside him. Cedric came up to Asia with a grin of his own, before glancing at Draco and Annika and nodding in greeting.

They all followed their parents into the lit up path between the trees along with the rest of the crowd.

"Supporting Ireland, I see," Cedric said to Asia as he walked beside her.

"Supporting Bulgaria, I see," Asia replied as she observed the red hat and rosette that he wore.

"You really think Ireland will win, when Bulgaria has Krum?" he teased her.

"Yes, I think Ireland will win, when Bulgaria has only Krum and they have seven other players who are much better in what they do than the other players in the Bulgarian team. I do not think there is much to think about it, do you?"

"I still think Bulgaria will win," said Draco, joining their conversation.

"I know," Cedric replied, "Bulgaria will win. And when it does, Asia, I will get bragging rights."

"Oh, come on, Cedric," Asia scoffed, "You could have gotten bragging rights if you were playing out there. But none of us are, so bragging rights are a bit stupid at this time."

"No, they're not!" exclaimed Cedric, indignantly, "I get to brag about how I was right, and you – _the _Asia Malfoy – were wrong. How does that sound?"

"I think, there couldn't have been a better bet, Diggory," said Draco, as he smirked at Asia, "What do you say, Nastya? You agree, or are you too chicken to do so?"

"I agree! And if Bulgaria loses, then I get to taunt you both for your entire lives!" she huffed in reply and began to walk faster to avoid their snickers.

They walked for another twenty minutes, teasing Asia every couple minutes and avoiding Annika at every cost. At last they emerged on the other side and Asia saw a part of a gigantic stadium. Her excitement had no limit at the moment, and she could not stop a huge smile from spreading over her face. Cedric chuckled at the look on her face and started grinning like a fool himself.

There were witches and wizards swarming the entrances, as they all made their way to the closet one. The Diggorys went first and were directed to their seats. They left, but not before Cedric turned around and waved at Asia. She gave a small smile and a wave in reply, before turning to look at Father who was now handing over their tickets to the Ministry witch standing beside the entrance.

"The Prime Box, Mr Malfoy." she said, "All the way to the top! Have fun"

They all walked past her and started climbing up the seemingly endless flights of stairs that led to the Prime box.

_Just how huge is this place?_ Asia thought amazed with the height of the stadium.

They kept climbing, and at last they reached the top of the staircase and found themselves in a small box, set at the highest point of the stadium and situated exactly halfway between the golden goal posts. About twenty purple-and-gilt chairs stood in three rows here. There were already some people in there, and the first person Asia spotted was Harry, who stood at the end of the first row that was filled with all the Weasleys, Hermione and him. In the second row, in the middle, stood the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, and another man who wore black and gold dress robes. She saw that they were the last ones to enter the box and only five more seats were left, for the Malfoys. One beside the Minister, and the other four in the third row, where Asia assumed she would sit with Mother, Annika and Draco while Father would sit with the Minister.

Minister Fudge immediately spotted Father and stopped his conversation with Harry to greet him.

"Ah and here's Lucius!" he said to them.

As soon as the Minister said this, they all turned around to find them filling the seats in the third row. Asia glanced at the Weasleys, Harry and Hermione and exchanged a smile with each of them.

"Ah, Fudge," said Father, holding out his hand as he reached the seat behind the Minister's, "How are you? I don't think you've met my wife, Narcissa? Or our son, Draco, and daughter, Annika? And of course my other daughter, _Nasty_a?"

Asia did not miss the way he said "other", as if emphasizing that she would never be the daughter he expected one to be like. Even his emphasis on "nasty" did not go unnoticed by anyone in the box who was aware of the treatment she got from the Malfoys. She saw the Weasleys' and Hermione's stares harden when he did that, but she did not dare look in Harry's direction. Unsure of what she would find there.

"How do you do, how do you do?" said the Minister, smiling and bowing to Mother, completely oblivious to the tension in the box and the way she was introduced, "I remember Asia over here! How are you, my dear?" he asked her with a fatherly smile on his face.

Asia remembered meeting the Minister at the end of last year at Hogwarts, when Sirius Black had been captured in the grounds of the school. She thought of him to be an acceptable man, but he did not have the open-mindedness that a Minister, according to Asia, should possess.

"I am good, Minister," she replied with a smile of her own, "How are you, Sir?"

"Very well, very well," he said, before turning to glance at the man beside him, "And allow me to introduce you to Mr Oblansk - Obalonsk - Mr - well, he's the Bulgarian Minister of Magic, and he can't understand a word I'm saying anyway, so never mind. And let's see who else - you know Arthur Weasley, I daresay?"

It was a tense moment. Mr Weasley and Father looked at each other and Asia vividly recalled the last time they had come face-to-face: It had been in _Flourish and Blotts'_ bookshop, and they had had a fight. Father's cold grey eyes swept over Mr Weasley, and then up and down the row.

"Good lord, Arthur," he said softly. "What did you have to sell to get seats in the Top Box? Surely your house wouldn't have fetched this much?"

Minister Fudge, who was not listening, said, "Lucius has just given a very generous contribution to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, Arthur. He's here as my guest."

"How - how nice," said Mr Weasley, with a very strained smile.

Asia saw as Father's eyes went back to Hermione, who went slightly pink, but stared determinedly back at him. Asia knew it was merely the fact that she was a Muggle-born that made him consider her lower than himself.

However, with the Minister of Magic present, he did not dare say anything. He nodded sneeringly to Mr Weasley and continued down the line to his seats. Draco shot Harry, Ron, and Hermione one contemptuous look, and then settled beside Mother, in the last seat available on the third row, while Annika sat between Mother and Father after sending a hateful glare at Ginny. This left Asia to unwillingly turn to the seat beside the Minister in the second row, right behind Harry's seat.

"Oh, Asia, my child!" exclaimed the Minister when he noticed that she was the only one without a seat, "Come here, my chid. Sit beside me!"

She smiled at how nice he was being and walked over to the empty seat beside him. She sent a polite smile to the Bulgarian Minister, who smiled wide in return and nodded at her in acknowledgement, and sat down. She thought she heard Ron muttering something that sounded something like "Slimy gits" causing her to chuckle under her breath so as not to attract the Minister's attention. She turned to see the rest of the stadium and her breathe got caught in her throat at the view.

A hundred thousand witches and wizards were taking their places in the seats, which rose in levels around the long oval field. Everything was suffused with a mysterious golden light, which seemed to come from the stadium itself. The field looked smooth as velvet from their lofty position. At either end of the field stood three goal hoops, fifty feet high; right opposite them, almost at Asia's eye level, was a gigantic blackboard. Gold writing kept dashing across it as though an invisible giant's hand were scrawling upon the blackboard and then wiping it off again; watching it, she saw that it was flashing advertisements across the field.

Asia glanced around awestruck at the marvellous view before snapping out of her trance when she heard the Minister talking to her about the settlement. She replied with polite answers and small smiles and even tried to include the Bulgarian Minister into their conversation at first, though she soon understood that Minister Fudge was right and he could not understand a word she was saying. She suddenly wished that she could speak Bulgarian so that he could have felt more involved into the social part of the event than just the game; she felt bad for him.

A few minutes later, a man came barging into the box wearing long Quidditch robes in thick horizontal stripes of bright yellow and black. A picture of and huge wasp was spattered over his chest; his robes were tight across his large belly that gave him the look of a powerfully built man gone slightly to seed. He had round, blue eyes, short blonde hair and a rosy complexion but a squashed nose. He looked familiar, but Asia could not pin point exactly how he did.

"Everyone ready?" he said, his round face gleaming like excitement, "Minister - ready to go?"

"Ready when you are, Ludo," said Fudge comfortably.

Then she realized who this man was: Ludo Bagman. He was the former Beater of the Wimbourne Wasps, hence the wasp on his chest. She smiled at him when he glanced at her and grinned in excitement.

He whipped out his wand, directed it at his own throat, and said "Sonorus!" and then spoke over the roar of sound that was now filling the packed stadium; his voice echoed over them, booming into every corner of the stands.

"Ladies and gentlemen… welcome! Welcome to the final of the four hundred and twenty-second Quidditch World Cup!"

Everyone screamed and clapped all around the stadium, the flags of the two countries competing were waved and flapped everywhere and many people began singing their National anthems. The huge board opposite the bow Asia was sitting in was wiped clear of the adverts of different magical products, and was now replaced by "BULGARIA: 0, IRELAND: 0".

Asia could feel her excitement growing even more, if that was possible. Her stomach fluttered with anticipation and the butterflies transformed into dragons. She wanted the game to begin already. For once she was glad that she had the Minister of Magic sitting beside her instead of anyone from her foster family. It would have been completely awkward trying to cheer for the Irish team when the rest of her family was supporting the Bulgarian team.

"And now, without further ado, allow me to introduce… the Bulgarian National Team Mascots!"

The stands on the right roared in excitement to welcome their mascots.

"I wonder what they've brought," Asia heard Mr Weasley mutter while leaning forward in his seat, "Aaah!" He suddenly whipped off his glasses and polished them hurriedly on his robes, "Veela!"

Asia saw just as he said it: a hundred veela were now gliding out onto the field. Veela were half-human and half-Siren, the sea creatures from the Greek Mythology. Asia had read about them in numerous books and had wanted to see them for ages. When they started to dance, it entire stadium went into chaos. She saw men all over the stands doing many stupid things. Mr Weasley was merely smiling at everyone around him, and had fingers in his ears to avoid going into their trance.

"Harry, what are you doing?" Asia heard Hermione say as the music stopped.

Asia turned to look at Harry and almost laughed out loud. He was standing up, and one of his legs was resting on the wall of the box. Next to him, Ron was frozen in an attitude that looked as though he were about to dive from a springboard. It was really amusing, even the Minister chuckled a little bit when he saw how Asia was refraining from laughing at them.

She shook her head and turned back to watch the rest of the stadium. She watched as angry yells filled the stadium. The crowd did not seem to want the veela to go. Once the veela had left the field Ludo Bagman began again.

"And now," he roared, "kindly put your wands in the air… for the Irish National Team Mascots!"

Next moment, what seemed to be a great green-and-gold comet came zooming into the stadium. It did one circuit of the stadium, and then split into two smaller comets, each hurtling toward the goal posts. A rainbow arced suddenly across the field, connecting the two balls of light causing the crowd to ooh and aah in amazement, as though they were at a fireworks display. Asia was one of them. She saw as the rainbow faded and the balls of light reunited and merged; they had formed a great shimmering shamrock, which rose up into the sky and began to soar over the stands. Something like golden rain seemed to be falling from it –

"Excellent!" yelled Ron, from in front of her, as the shamrock soared over them and heavy gold coins rained from it, bouncing off their heads and seats.

She looked up to see that the shamrock was really made of a thousands of tiny little bearded men with red vests, each carrying a minute lamp of gold or green.

"Leprechauns," Asia exclaimed, as she immediately recognized them. She turned to the Minister and said, "This gold will disappear in no time."

"I know," he replied in amusement, "It's a great way to create excitement and interest in the crowd."

Asia nodded and returned to watch the scenes unfold in front of her with a big smile.

The great shamrock dissolved, the leprechauns drifted down onto the field on the opposite side from the veela, and settled themselves cross-legged to watch the match.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, kindly welcome - the Bulgarian National Quidditch Team! I give you - Dimitrov!"

A red figure on a broomstick, moving so fast it was blurred, shot out onto the field from an entrance far below, to wild applause from the Bulgarian supporters.

"Ivanova!"

A second scarlet-robed player zoomed out.

"Zograf! Levski! Vulchanov! Volkov! Aaaaaaand - Krum!"

"That's him, that's him!" yelled Ron, as he watched through his Omniocular.

Asia followed his example and focused her own pair to watch the players zoom past them in high speed across the stadium.

Asia recognized Viktor Krum as the thin, dark, and sallow-skinned man, with a large curved nose and thick black eyebrows. He looked like an overgrown bird of prey. His appearance made it really hard to believe that he was only eighteen.

"And now, please greet - the Irish National Quidditch Team!" yelled Bagman. "Presenting - Connolly! Ryan! Troy! Mullet! Moran! Quigley! Aaaaaand - Lynch!"

Seven green blurs swept onto the field; and Asia used her Omnioculars and adjusted the dials to watch her favourite team enter the field.

"And here, all the way from Egypt, our referee, acclaimed Chairwizard of the International Association of Quidditch, Hassan Mostafa!"

A small and skinny wizard, completely bald but with a huge moustache, strode out onto the field. He wore robes of pure gold to match the stadium and a silver whistle protruded from under the moustache. He also carried a large wooden crate under one arm, and his broomstick under the other.

Asia watched closely as Mostafa mounted his broomstick and kicked the crate open - four balls burst into the air: the scarlet Quaffle, the two black Bludgers, and the minuscule, winged Golden Snitch which disappeared from sight as soon as it came. With a sharp blast on his whistle, Mostafa shot into the air after the balls.

"Theeeeeeeey're OFF!" screamed Mr Bagman. "And it's Mullet! Troy! Moran! Dimitrov! Back to Mullet! Troy! Levski! Moran!"

It was Quidditch the fastest match of Quidditch she had never seen played before. The speed of the players was incredible - the Chasers were throwing the Quaffle to one another so fast that Mr Bagman only had time to say their names.

She watched the game go on for a few minutes in normal mode, but then decided to change it to slow motion to watch play-by-play. She read the titles of every trick and stunt the players pulled in this way. She decided to record all of it so that she could watch it later and try these moves for herself one she got her hands on a broomstick at Hogwarts.

HAWKSHEAD ATTACKING FORMATION, she read as she watched the three Irish Chasers zoom closely together, Troy in the center, slightly ahead of Mullet and Moran, bearing down upon the Bulgarians. PORSKOFF PLOY flashed up next, as Troy made as though to dart upward with the Quaffle, drawing away the Bulgarian Chaser Ivanova and dropping the Quaffle to Moran. One of the Bulgarian Beaters, Volkov, swung hard at a passing Bludger with his small club, knocking it into Moran's path; Moran ducked to avoid the Bludger and dropped the Quaffle; and Levski, soaring beneath, caught it - "TROY SCORES!" roared Bagman, and the stadium shuddered with a roar of applause and cheers. "Ten zero to Ireland!"

_What?_ Asia thought, _But Levski's got the Quaffle!_

She looked away from her Omnioculars and saw that the game was going faster than she had seen through the Omnioculars. Realizing her mistake, she spun the dial back to normal and watched the match resume.

Though she had never played with anyone, she knew enough about Quidditch to see that the Irish Chasers were superb. They worked as a seamless team, their movements so well coordinated that they appeared to be reading one another's minds as they positioned themselves, and the rosette on Asia's chest kept squeaking their names: "Troy - Mullet - Moran!" And within ten minutes, Ireland had scored twice more, bringing their lead to thirty-zero and causing a thunderous tide of roars and applause from the green-clad supporters. Even Asia cheered this time, causing the Minister to jump in surprise at her sudden outburst.

"Sorry," she quickly muttered as she went red with embarrassment and turned back to watch the match.

The match became faster – if it was possible – and more brutal. Volkov and Vulchanov, the Bulgarian Beaters, were whacking the Bludgers as fiercely as possible at the Irish Chasers, and were starting to prevent them from using some of their best moves; twice they were forced to scatter, and then, finally, Ivanova managed to break through their ranks; dodge the Keeper, Ryan; and score Bulgaria's first goal.

"Fingers in your ears!" bellowed Mr Weasley from in front of her, as the veela started to dance in celebration. Asia watched as all the boys in the box had done so. After a few seconds, the veela stopped dancing, and Bulgaria was again in possession of the Quaffle.

"Dimitrov! Levski! Dimitrov! Ivanova - oh I say!" roared Bagman. One hundred thousand wizards gasped as the two Seekers, Krum and Lynch, plummeted through the center of the Chasers, so fast that it looked as though they had just jumped from airplanes without parachutes. Asia followed their descent through his Omnioculars, squinting to see where the Snitch was –

"They're going to crash!" screamed Hermione next to Ron.

She was half right - at the very last second, Viktor Krum pulled out of the dive and spiralled off. Lynch, however, hit the ground with a dull thud that could be heard throughout the stadium. A huge groan rose from the Irish seats.

"Krum was feinting!" Asia groaned.

"It's time-out!" yelled Bagman's voice, "as trained mediwizards hurry onto the field to examine Aidan Lynch!"

Krum was now circling high above Lynch, who was being revived by mediwizards with cups of potion. Asia decided to focus more on Krum, she saw his dark eyes darting all over the ground a hundred feet below. He was using the time while Lynch was revived to look for the Snitch without interference.

Lynch got to his feet at last, to loud cheers from the green-clad supporters, mounted his Firebolt, and kicked back off into the air. His revival seemed to give Ireland new heart. When Mostafa blew his whistle again, the Chasers moved into action with a skill unrivalled by anything they had seen so far.

After fifteen more fast and furious minutes, Ireland had pulled ahead by ten more goals. They were now leading by one hundred and thirty points to ten, and the game was starting to get dirtier. As Mullet shot toward the goal posts yet again, clutching the Quaffle tightly under her arm, the Bulgarian Keeper, Zograf, flew out to meet her. Whatever happened was over so quickly Asia hardly caught it, but a scream of rage from the Irish crowd, and Mostafa's long, shrill whistle blast, told her it had been a foul.

"And Mostafa takes the Bulgarian Keeper to task for cobbing — excessive use of elbows!" Bagman informed the roaring spectators. "And - yes, it's a penalty to Ireland!"

The leprechauns, who had risen angrily into the air like a swarm of glittering hornets when Mullet had been fouled, now darted together to form the words "HA, HA, HA!" The veela on the other side of the field leapt to their feet, tossed their hair angrily, and started to dance again.

Right as the veela started to dance, all the men in the box covered their ears to avoid going into another trance. Asia glanced at the veela and giggled at the sight she found below.

Hassan Mostafa had landed right in front of the dancing veela, and was acting very oddly indeed. He was flexing his muscles and smoothing his moustache excitedly.

"Now, we can't have that!" said Ludo Bagman, though he sounded highly amused. "Somebody slap the referee!"

A mediwizard came tearing across the field; his fingers stuffed into his own ears, and kicked Mostafa hard in the shins. Mostafa seemed to come to himself; Asia used her Omnioculars to watch as he looked embarrassed and then started shouting at the veela, who had stopped dancing and were looking mutinous.

"And unless I'm much mistaken, Mostafa is actually attempting to send off the Bulgarian team mascots!" said Bagman's voice. "Now there's something we haven't seen before… Oh this could turn nasty…"

It did: The Bulgarian Beaters, Volkov and Vulchanov, landed on either side of Mostafa and began arguing furiously with him, gesticulating toward the leprechauns, who had now gleefully formed the words "HEE, HEE, HEE." Mostafa was not impressed by the Bulgarians' arguments, however; he was jabbing his finger into the air, clearly telling them to get flying again, and when they refused, he gave two short blasts on his whistle.

"Two penalties for Ireland!" shouted Bagman, and the Bulgarian crowd howled with anger. "And Volkov and Vulchanov had better get back on those brooms… yes… there they go… and Troy takes the Quaffle." Play now reached a level of ferocity beyond anything they had yet seen. The Beaters on both sides were acting without mercy: Volkov and Vulchanov in particular seemed not to care whether their clubs made contact with Bludger or human as they swung them violently through the air. Dimitrov shot straight at Moran, who had the Quaffle, nearly knocking her off her broom.

"Foul!" roared the Irish supporters as one, all standing up in a great wave of green. "Foul!" echoed Ludo Bagman's magically magnified voice. "Dimitrov skins Moran - deliberately flying to collide there - and it's got to be another penalty - yes, there's the whistle!"

Asia watched as the leprechauns rose into the air once again and this time made a giant hand making a very rude gesture at the veela. This caused uproar, and the veela stood up once again, but not to dance this time. They launched themselves across the field and began to throw what seemed like balls if fire at the leprechauns. Their faces were now no longer the beautiful faces they had once been, but now they had elongated, sharp, cruel-beaked bird heads, and long, scaly wings that burst from their shoulders.

"And that, boys," yelled Mr Weasley over the tumult of the crowd below, "is why you should never go for looks alone!"

Asia laughed lightly in amusement and amazement at the sight before her. She had never been a spectator to anything as dynamic and vibrant as this match.

While Ministry wizards were flooding onto the field to separate the veela and the leprechauns, but with little success; Asia turned and stared through her Omnioculars, as the Quaffle changed hands with the speed of a bullet.

"Levski - Dimitrov - Moran - Troy - Mullet - Ivanova - Moran again - Moran - MORAN SCORES!"

But the cheers of the Irish supporters were barely heard over the shrieks of the veela, the blasts now issuing from the Ministry members' wands, and the furious roars of the Bulgarians. The game recommenced immediately; now Levski had the Quaffle, now Dimitrov - The Irish Beater Quigley swung heavily at a passing Bludger, and hit it as hard as possible toward Krum, who did not duck quickly enough. It hit him full in the face.

There was a deafening groan from the crowd; Krum's nose looked broken, there was blood everywhere, but Hassan Mostafa didn't blow his whistle. He had become distracted, and he could not be blamed as one of the veela had thrown a handful of fire and set his broom tail alight.

No one realized Krum's injury and he did not get a time-out to get them tended.

"Look at Lynch!" She heard Harry yell.

She did as he had said and saw that the Irish Seeker had suddenly gone into a dive, and Asia was quite sure that this was no Wronski Feint; this was the real thing…

"He's seen the Snitch!" Harry shouted, yet again. "He's seen it! Look at him go!"

Half the crowd seemed to have realized what was happening; the Irish supporters rose in another great wave of green, screaming their Seeker on… but Krum was on his tail. How he could see where he was going, Asia had no idea; there were flecks of blood flying through the air behind him, but he was drawing level with Lynch now as the pair of them hurtled toward the ground again -

_They're going to crash!_ She screamed in her head.

"They're not!" roared Ron, making her think she had said that out loud. But she soon realized Hermione had screamed the same thing.

"Lynch is!" yelled Harry.

And he was right - for the second time, Asia watched as Lynch hit the ground with tremendous force and was immediately stampeded by a horde of angry veela.

"The Snitch, where's the Snitch?" she heard one of the Weasleys bellow, along the row.

"He's got it - Krum's got it - it's all over!" shouted Harry.

And he had indeed. Krum, with his red robes shining with blood from his nose, was rising gently into the air, his fist held high, a glint of gold in his hand.

The scoreboard was flashing BULGARIA: 160, IRELAND: 170 across the crowd, who didn't seem to have realized what had happened. Then, slowly, as though a great jumbo jet were revving up, the rumbling from the Ireland supporters grew louder and louder and erupted into screams of delight.

"IRELAND WINS!" Bagman shouted, who like the Irish, seemed to be taken aback by the sudden end of the match.

"KRUM GETS THE SNITCH - BUT IRELAND WINS — good lord, I don't think any of us were expecting that!"

She cheered and clapped along with her fellow Ireland supporters and listened to a conversation going on between Harry and Ron, in front of her.

"What did he catch the Snitch for?" Ron bellowed, even as he jumped up and down, applauding with his hands over his head. "He ended it when Ireland was a hundred and sixty points ahead, the idiot!"

"He knew they were never going to catch up!" Harry shouted back over all the noise, also applauding loudly. "The Irish Chasers were too good… He wanted to end it on his term. That's all…"

"He was very brave, wasn't he?" Hermione said, leaning forward to watch Krum land as a swarm of mediwizards blasted a path through the battling leprechauns and veela to get to him. "He looks a terrible mess…"

Listening to this, she followed Harry's example and put her Omnioculars to her eyes again. It was hard to see what was happening below, because leprechauns were zooming delightedly all over the field, but she could just make out Krum, surrounded by mediwizards. He looked surlier than ever and refused to let them mop him up. His team members were around him, shaking their heads and looking dejected; a short way away, the Irish players were dancing gleefully in a shower of gold descending from their mascots.

Flags were waving all over the stadium, the Irish national anthem blared from all sides; the veela were shrinking back into their usual, beautiful selves now, though looking dispirited and forlorn.

"Vell, ve fought bravely," said a gloomy voice beside Asia. She looked around to see that it was the Bulgarian Minister of Magic.

"You can speak English!" said Fudge, sounding outraged. "And you've been letting me mime everything all day!"

"Veil, it vos very funny," said the Bulgarian minister, shrugging.

Asia laughed out loud at the Bulgarian Minister's joke and extended her hand for him to shake, "Wonderful to finally be able to introduce myself to you. Anastasia Malfoy. How do you do? And you are right. You did fight bravely."

He smiled widely and shook her hand, "Pleasure to finally be able to talk to you, Ms Malfoy. Congratulations on the victory of your team."

She smiled and said a small "Thank you" before Mr Bagman spoke again.

"And as the Irish team performs a lap of honour, flanked by their mascots, the Quidditch World Cup itself is brought into the Top Box!" roared Bagman.

Asia's eyes were suddenly dazzled by a blinding white light, as the Top Box was magically illuminated so that everyone in the stands could see the inside. Squinting toward the entrance, she saw two panting wizards carrying a vast golden cup into the box, which they handed to Cornelius Fudge, who was still looking very disgruntled that he'd been using sign language all day for nothing. She smiled at the cup and clapped with the others.

"Let's have a really loud hand for the gallant losers - Bulgaria!" Bagman shouted.

And up the stairs into the box came the seven defeated Bulgarian players. The crowd below was applauding appreciatively; Asia could see thousands and thousands of Omniocular lenses flashing and winking in their direction. At first she could not believe it, but she snapped out of her trance to see that it was as real as Hogwarts that the Bulgarian players were a few feet away from her.

One by one, the Bulgarians filed between the two front rows of seats in the box, and Bagman called out the name of each as they shook hands with their own minister and then with Fudge. Every time they passed Asia either they smiled at her or even shook hands with her as if she was also someone as important as the Minister. She felt uncomfortable due to all the attention and even turned red with embarrassment as Dimitrov kissed her knuckles before shooting her a last smile and walking out of the box.

Krum, who was last in line, looked a real mess. Two black eyes were blooming spectacularly on his bloody face. He was still holding the Snitch. Asia noticed that he seemed much less coordinated on the ground. He was slightly duck-footed and distinctly round-shouldered. But when Krum's name was announced, the whole stadium gave him a resounding, ear-splitting roar. Even he smiled at her before walking out of the box, and she could not help but smile back at him as if it was a reflexive response.

As the Krum walked out, she glanced around her to see Ginny giggling at her. Asia rolled her eyes when she winked at her and turned to the Minister.

"Why were they greeting me?" she asked him.

"Oh, first and foremost," he replied with a chuckle, "you are next to two Ministers of Magic. And secondly, you are a beauty that is hard to miss."

Asia blushed at the compliment and felt her heart melt at the fatherly words that were directed her way.

_This night is becoming stranger by the minute,_ she thought; _I want to go back to being the unnoticed, nobody, Anastasia Malfoy!_

Before the Minister could say anything else, the Irish team entered the Top box.

Aidan Lynch was being supported by Moran and Connolly; the second crash seemed to have dazed him and his eyes looked strangely unfocused. But he grinned happily as Troy and Quigley lifted the Cup into the air and the crowd below thundered its approval. Asia's hands were already numb with clapping and she did not think that she could clap anymore without her hands falling off her wrists.

But she did not even need to clap for that long. As soon as she began clapping for the first player that was called to shake hands with the two Ministers, she had to stop the next second to shake hands with him. Asia thought she would permanently become a red tomato by the end of the night. She did not like the attention at all and all she wanted was for the teams to leave and the night to end.

She did not dare look behind her, as she could already feel three pairs of eyes glaring daggers into her back.

At last, when the Irish team had left the box to perform another lap of honour on their brooms (Aidan Lynch on the back of Confolly's, clutching hard around his waist and still grinning in a bemused sort of way), Mr Bagman pointed his wand at his throat and muttered, "Quietus."

"They'll be talking about this one for years;" he said hoarsely, "a really unexpected twist, which… shame it couldn't have lasted longer…"

He turned to Asia and smile widely at her.

"You, young lady," he said to her, "I would love to know your name. And also congratulate you on your luck to have had the pleasure to have direct contact with the players!"

"Umm…" she mumbled, uncomfortably, going red yet again, "Anas – Nastya Malfoy"

Her eyes quickly took a glance at Harry to see him furrow his eyebrows. She knew he wanted her to tell him her real name. But she did not want to anger Father and Mother any more than they already were.

"Beautiful name, for a beautiful young girl," he said with a boyish smile, "You are really lucky to have such a wonderful girl as a daughter, Mr Malfoy."

She saw out of the corner of her eyes, that Father had merely nodded in acknowledgment of the compliment and was trying real hard to smile instead of glaring at her. She knew Mr Bagman had said only to be polite; 'Nastya' was in no way a beautiful name. It made her cringe whenever anyone other than her foster family called her that.

"Ah yes… yes, I owe you… how much?" Mr Bagman continued as Fred and George had just scrambled over the backs of their seats, and now stood in front of him with broad grins on their faces, their hands outstretched.

Asia grinned slightly at their excited faces as she just remembered that the Weasley twins had just won a bet that was something no one could have guessed.


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: The Dark Mark**

Red and green.

That was all she could see. Two wizards standing within a circle of hooded figures, masked, hooded figures. Duelling. Red and green was all she saw, as the lights emerged from both the wands. The two wands were connected with a huge ball of gold in between them.

Harry…

_Run, Harry!_ She tried to scream.

No voice left her throat.

She looked around. She saw no other face she knew could help him. She searched frantically for help.

_HELP!_ She tried to yell again.

No voice left her throat.

She saw a figure writhing in pain on the floor, inside the same circle of hooded men.

_Who is he? May be he can help?_ She thought as she moved a couple of steps toward him.

She stopped short when she recognized his face that was illuminated under the flashes of red and green.

_Peter Pettigrew?! No!_ She thought angrily.

She turned to see the Harry duelling with the man again. She squinted, trying to see who the man was. Behind the green light emerging from his wand, she realized, with great indignation, that the man was the same snake-like person she had seen in a few of her dreams. Her breath got caught in her throat.

_How is this possible? Lord Voldemort._

Green and red. Red and green. Again and again. Her breathing becoming erratic with every second the connection remained between the two wands.

Suddenly everything went black. The very next second, she found herself standing in a huge crowd of spectators in the stands of a stadium. She was a part of them.

She looked around confusedly, at the person next to her.

_Hermione!_

She looked tense. Worried. Complete opposite of the people around them. She followed Hermione's gaze to the arena.

_NO! Harry!_ She once again tried to scream.

What was he doing?

_Look behind you, Harry!_ She thought in her head. Desperate for him to somehow hear her.

He should not be here. The dragon. The dragon should not be here either. Where was here, exactly?

She looked to her right to see if anyone else was horrified at the sight in front of them. She was surprised to see herself standing right there, next to her. She was staring at Harry desperately; worry clear in her eyes. She looked like she wanted to cry.

_Why? She has never wanted to cry at Hogwarts before… Why now?_

Everyone was screaming and yelling and cheering Harry on around them. The sounds were almost unbearable. Harry looked up right at her. The one standing to her right. He was telling her something. He was telling her to trust him on this.

_What for? Why is he walking down there like that? Does he not know, she would always trust him, no matter what?_

Harry shouted something.

_What? Is he trying to talk to me?_

Then Harry was mounting his Firebolt. He flew around the dragon. Kept flying. Teasing and taunting the dragon. Why was he doing that? He was provoking it.

Everything suddenly disappeared like smoke around her. It was black for another second. She frantically looked around.

Black.

Then all of a sudden, she found herself in a graveyard.

Dark night. Not a single sound. Her eyes searched here and there for anything familiar or a clue to where she was or why she was here.

She heard a sound.

Hissing.

"Avada Kedavra!"

She stopped breathing. Red. That is what she saw. She walked to the light.

She saw him again. Peter. She turned to her right.

Harry. He was tied up. To a tombstone. She read the writing on it.

'Tom Riddle'

She screamed. Or at least tried to. No voice left her throat, yet again.

She stumbled a few feet behind. A cauldron beside her. Fire ablaze below it. She felt something soft hit her feet.

She looked down, eyes widening in horror.

_Cedric._

And then Asia woke up with a start.

Breathing hard and fast, she wiped her sweaty forehead with the back of her hand. Her chest heaved up and down with the intensity of her uneven breathing. Laying a hand on her chest, she felt her heart beat that sounded like a Bludgers hitting a wooden wall, one after the other, with no speed limit, whatsoever. This dream was worse than any she had ever had; which was very often.

_What was this about? Why was Cedric… dead?! Voldemort… Harry… the duel… the Dragon…? Oh!_ She kept on thinking through every image she saw.

Every horror she witnessed.

_Why were the wands connected?_ She thought as her curious mind overtook her fear for a second, before she wiped the thought away; more worried for Harry and Cedric.

_Why was Harry fighting a dragon? Who were those hooded figures? Were they Death Eaters? Why was Harry tied to Tom Riddle's tombstone –?_

Her thoughts were interrupted by sudden screaming from somewhere. She looked around to realize that she was still in the tent, in her bunk.

_Just two hours since the match ended?_ She realized after checking the small alarm clock beside her bed.

_Are they still celebrating?_

She got out of her bed and pulled on a cloak over the dress she had gotten from Draco. She did not even have the energy of changing before going to bed after they had returned. She was more than just exhausted.

While walking to the entrance of the tent, she noticed that Draco too was now awake. She smiled a small, tired smile at him and led the way.

"You reckon they would get tired after a few minutes of cheering," he complained grumpily, "But, no. They got to disturb others and continue celebrations!"

Asia just smiled and proceeded to walk out of the tent, but stopped short at the sight before her.

Panic. The first word to pop into her head.

Horror. The hooded figures.

_Run!_ She thought.

"Nastya? What is it? Why did you stop?" Draco called from behind her, still inside the tent.

She quickly turned around and pulled him out. He stared wide-eyed at the scene in front of them. He gave a fleeting look toward Father's tent. He turned to her, at loss of what to say or do.

"Grab Annika and run," Asia said to him, "into the woods! They are the safest right now!"

"What?" he asked, incredulously, "Are you crazy? What about you? NASTYA!"

Asia ignored him and ran towards the woods. Towards the pathway that led to the other field.

That led to Harry…

She had an instinct to find him before these hooded figures found them. She pushed past all the panic-stricken people. Wizards, witches, Muggles; everyone ran into the woods, through the path that was lit with green and red before, but was now engulfed in the darkness of the night and screams of scared people.

She risked a glance back towards the tents, and suddenly wished she had not done it. The hooded figures were nowhere to be seen. They had disappeared leaving a complete wreck of burning and blasted tents all around the area.

Fear gripped her heart as she heard more screams. But this time they came from the other side of the woods. From where the Weasleys, Hermione and Harry were. She had to get to them. She knew she could do nothing special to save them even need be it. But she wanted to see them all for herself, well and alive. Safe with each other.

She finally reached the second field, after a lot of trouble from people running around and pushing and shoving each other to get to safety first. This time the sight was worse than before. The hooded men were here. The tents were burning and being blasted here too. But there were helpless Muggles being levitated into the air by these people. The crowd of hooded men grew more and more every second. She had no idea which way to go to find the Weasleys. She had no idea who these hooded men were, but she did have a vague idea.

Voldemort's followers. They were his faithful servants. Her eyes widened another fraction as she realized.

"Death Eaters," she whispered before taking off in a sprint to the general direction of where she thought she knew the Weasley's tents were.

She did not have to go too far. She saw Fred, George, Ron, Ginny, Hermione and Harry running towards the woods, glancing back at the ever-growing crowd of Death Eaters, beneath the Muggles. She stopped a few feet away, and glanced at them herself. She saw Ministry officials trying to get them through the crowd, which proving to be quite hard. She felt the sense of déjà vu, as she saw this.

Her dream…

She looked at the Weasleys, and saw with immense relief that none of them were harmed. Ginny ran up to her and gave her a light hug and then went back to holding Fred's hand. Asia turned to the others.

"You lot are alright?" she asked them.

"Yeah," Harry replied with a quick nod, before looking Asia over, "Are you?"

"As alright as I can be at the moment," she replied, breathlessly, "Come on. Into the woods. They are the safest at the moment."

She led the group into the woods where everyone was already rushing past them. Once inside, she realized that they were more crowded now, than they were when she was on her way here. She was being pushed here and there by dark figures and felt someone grab her arm before she could fall from the impact of one of the pushes. She looked over her shoulder to see Harry glancing around in the dark, looking for the others and holding her arm to prevent her from falling on her face. She blushed as she felt sparks where he touched her, but did not say anything.

_Looks like he does not feel them, then_ she thought, ruefully.

She shook her head furiously, angry at herself for thinking such thoughts when she should be worried for everyone's safety.

"Are you okay?" she heard Harry whisper close to her ear, trying to be heard over all the shuffling.

She turned red and was glad that it was dark so Harry could not see her face clearly. She did not trust her voice at the moment, so she just nodded, hoping that he got the message.

He was about to speak again, when they heard a yelp of pain from Ron, somewhere behind them. They turned around to look for any sign of Ron or Hermione.

"What happened?" they Hermione say anxiously from right in front of them, "Ron, where are you? Oh this is stupid - lumos!"

She illuminated her wand, causing Asia and Harry to squint due to the sudden light. She directed its narrow beam across the path to show Ron lying sprawled on the ground.

"Tripped over a tree root," he said angrily, getting to his feet again.

"Well, with feet that size, hard not to," said a drawling voice from behind them.

Harry, Ron, Hermione and Asia turned sharply. Asia recognized the voice before she saw the face. Draco was standing alone nearby, leaning against a tree, looking utterly relaxed. His arms folded, he seemed to have been watching the scene at the campsite through a gap in the trees. Asia sighed exasperatedly, annoyed that he would now begin his taunting again. Ron told Malfoy to do something that caused Asia to flush in embarrassment and suck in a quick breath out of shock.

"Language, Weasley," said Draco, his pale eyes glittering, "Nastya, come here."

"You can't order her around like that!" Harry said furiously.

"Watch me, Potter," he replied, "How brave of you to leave your own family and run here to find these blood traitors, eh Nastya?"

"Draco." Asia said, calmly, "Stop, right there. Another word and you will regret ever saying anything. And I thought I told you to grab Annika and get her to safety. Where is she? And Mother and Father. Are they okay?"

"Hadn't you better be hurrying along, now?" he said, completely ignoring Asia's threat and questions, "You wouldn't like her spotted, would you?"

He nodded at Hermione, and at the same moment, a blast like a bomb sounded from the campsite, and a flash of green light momentarily lit the trees around them.

"What's that supposed to mean?" said Hermione defiantly.

"Granger, they're after Muggles," said Draco. "D'you want to be showing off your knickers in mid-air? Because if you do, hang around… they're moving this way, and it would give us all a laugh."

"Hermione's a witch," Harry snarled.

"Have it your own way, Potter," said Draco, grinning maliciously. "If you think they can't spot a Mudblood, stay where you are."

"You watch your mouth!" shouted Ron, at the same time, Asia shouted, "Draco!"

"Never mind, Ron, Asia," said Hermione quickly, seizing Ron's arm to restrain him as he took a step toward Malfoy. There came a bang from the other side of the trees that was louder than anything they had heard several people nearby screamed. Draco chuckled softly.

"Scare easily, don't they?" he said lazily. "I suppose your daddy told you all to hide? What's he up to - trying to rescue the Muggles?"

"Where're your parents?" said Harry, his temper rising. "Out there wearing masks, are they?"

Draco turned his face to Harry, still smiling.

"Well… if they were, I wouldn't be likely to tell you, would I, Potter?"

"What?" Asia asked quietly.

Asia could hardly believe what she was witnessing. This was not the Draco that had tried to protect her form Father and Mother's abuse at the Manor this summer. This was not her brother – well, foster brother. This was Malfoy. The bully. The son of a Death Eater. The Death Eater who could possibly be a part of the hooded figures bullying Muggles out there.

"What, Nastya?" Draco sneered at her, and this time for real, "you really thought Annika needed protection? We're not Mudbloods like your little friend here."

"Oh come on," said Hermione, with a disgusted look at Draco, "let's go and find the others."

"Keep that big bushy head down, Granger," sneered Draco, "And you better stay with me, Nastya. Father won't be pleased to find you in the company of blood-traitors."

"I would rather suffer the abuse and humiliation from my so-called Father and Mother, than stand here with you!" she spat venomously at him before pulling Harry with her and walking up the path.

"Come on," Hermione repeated, and she too pulled Ron up the path, following Asia and Harry.

"I'll bet you my entire possessions his dad is one of that masked lot!" said Ron hotly.

"Oh, I would bet you my life, Ron," Asia spoke quietly.

She had let go of Harry's arm and was now leading the way through the crowd, with the trio following behind her. She felt livid. She felt disappointed. Not in Draco, but in herself. For once she had thought that maybe Draco had changed for the better. But, no, he was still the same bully he always was. She was glad that Hermione had punched him in the face last year. He totally deserved it, and much more than that!

_That – that... git!_ She screamed in her head.

"Well, with any luck, the Ministry will catch him!" said Hermione fervently. "Oh I can't believe this. Where have the others got to?"

Asia tuned out anything they said after that. She was too busy thinking about how her dream had turned to reality. The same hooded figures like in her dreams. After their little confrontation with Draco, she was sure that they were Death Eaters.

_Does this mean that part about Voldemort and Harry duelling will also come true…?_ She thought, suddenly feeling very worried for him.

The dragon… then the part where Cedric dies…

Asia turned around to check if the trio was still with her, and apparently they were because as soon as she turned around, she was so abrupt that someone bumped into her. She looked up and saw that it was Harry.

"Sorry," she whispered after taking a few hurried steps back, "I was just checking to see if you were behind me."

"Anya," he said, "we've been talking behind you quite loudly, really. Were you not listening?"

"No, sorry, I was just thinking;" she replied hastily before glancing worriedly at Hermione and looking at Ron meaningfully, "Let us keep moving."

They kept walking further till they came across a crowd of men, young and old, pushing their way through to get to the veela standing in the middle.

"I pull down about a hundred sacks of Galleons a year!" one of the men shouted. "I'm a dragon killer for the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures."

"No, you're not!" yelled his friend. "You're a dishwasher at the Leaky Cauldron… but I'm a vampire hunter, I've killed about ninety so far -"

A third young wizard, whose pimples were visible even by the dim, silvery light of the veela, now cut in, "I'm about to become the youngest ever Minister of Magic, I am."

She heard Harry snort with laughter at that, and even she cracked a smile at the sound. She turned to ask him what was funny when she noticed that between him and Hermione, Ron's face had gone oddly slack, and next second Ron was yelling, "Did I tell you I've invented a broomstick that'll reach Jupiter?"

"Honestly!" said Hermione, and she and Harry grabbed Ron firmly by the arms, and shot a questioning look at Asia.

Asia shook her head and grabbed one of Hermione's arms and wheeled them around, and marched away from the veela. By the time the sounds of the veela and their admirers had faded completely, they were in the very heart of the wood. They seemed to be alone now; everything was much quieter.

Harry looked around and said, "I reckon we can just wait here, you know. We'll hear anyone coming a mile off."

The words were hardly out of his mouth, when Ludo Bagman emerged from behind a tree right ahead of them. Asia took out her wand and illuminated it to cast a brighter light.

Through the small amount of light, Asia noticed that a great change had come over Mr Bagman. He no longer looked buoyant and rosy-faced; there was no more spring in his step. He looked very white and strained.

"Who's that?" he said, blinking down at them, trying to make out their faces. "What are you doing in here, all alone?"

They looked at one another, surprised.

"Well - there's a sort of riot going on," said Ron.

Mr Bagman stared at him.

"What?"

"At the campsite… some people have got hold of a family of Muggles…" Asia answered, a little more than confused. Suspicious at what he was up to.

Mr Bagman swore loudly.

"Damn them!" he said, looking quite distracted, and without another word, he Disapparated with a small pop!

"Not exactly on top of things, Mr Bagman, is he?" said Hermione, frowning.

"He was a great Beater, though," said Ron, leading the way off the path into a small clearing, and sitting down on a patch of dry grass at the foot of a tree. "The Wimbourne Wasps won the league three times in a row while he was with them."

He took his small figure of Krum out of his pocket, set it down on the ground, and watched it walk around. Like the real Krum, the model was slightly duck-footed and round-shouldered, much less impressive on his splayed feet than on his broomstick.

Asia strained her ears to listen for anymore screams, but she heard nothing but stark quietness. Feeling a little relaxed, she went and sat beside Ron.

"I hope the others are okay," said Hermione after a while.

"They'll be fine," said Ron.

"Imagine if your dad catches Lucius Malfoy," said Harry, sitting down next to Ron and watching the small figure of Krum slouching over the fallen leaves. "He's always said he'd like to get something on him."

"That'd wipe the smirk off old Draco's face, all right," said Ron, with a slight grin, before glancing at Asia and looking at her nervously, "Sorry, Asia –"

"I really could care less about whatever happens to Father or Mother," she assured him, "You do not have to be sorry."

"Those poor Muggles, though," said Hermione nervously. "What if they can't get them down?"

"They will," said Ron reassuringly, after he was sure that Asia was not offended, "they'll find a way."

"Mad, though, to do something like that when the whole Ministry of Magic is out here tonight," Asia calmly stated, "I mean, how do they expect to get away with it?"

"Do you think they've been drinking, or are they just -" Hermione broke off abruptly and looked over her shoulder.

Asia, Harry and Ron quickly looked around too. It sounded as though someone was staggering toward their clearing. They waited, listening to the sounds of the uneven steps behind the dark trees. But the footsteps came to a sudden halt.

"Hello?" called Harry.

There was silence. Asia got to her feet and peered around the tree; though it was too dark to see very far, but she could sense somebody standing just beyond the range of her vision. Harry, too, got up and stood behind Asia to check for who could be there.

"Who is it?" she said.

Then, without warning, she heard a shout. It was not a shout for help nor was it out of fear. It was a spell, something she had never heard before.

"MORSMORDRE!"

And something vast, green, and glittering erupted from the patch of darkness and flew up over the treetops and into the sky.

"What the -?" gasped Ron as he sprang to his feet again, staring up at the thing that had appeared.

Asia was pushed behind Harry, as he grabbed her arm and pulled her closer, protectively. But Asia paid no heed as she realized what had appeared in the dark sky above. She remembered this too. From a dream. A dream that had haunted her sleep months ago, when the search for Sirius Black was going on.

It was a colossal skull, comprised of what looked like emerald stars, with a serpent protruding from its mouth like a tongue. As she stood watching, with Harry's hand around her arm and Ron and Hermione standing behind them, it rose higher and higher, blazing in a haze of greenish smoke, etched against the black sky like a new constellation.

Suddenly, the wood all around them erupted with screams. Of course, they would scream. This was no harmless light work. It was _the_ mark. His mark.

"The Dark Mark," Asia whispered, low enough for no one to hear, but loud enough for Harry to pick up what she said.

Asia pulled away from him and scanned the darkness for the person who had conjured the Mark, but she could not see anyone.

"Who's there?" she heard Harry call from behind her. She knew even he wanted to know who had done it.

"Harry, come on, move!" Asia turned around to see that Hermione had seized the collar of his jacket and was tugging him backward.

"What's the matter?" Harry said, startled to see her face so white and terrified. He turned to look at Asia who also looked pale.

Asia suddenly understood. He did not know what the skull and the serpent meant. He did not know why Hermione was so terrified. He had no idea why Asia was suddenly so scared. And no, she was not scared of Voldemort or his Death Eaters. She was scared of what this could mean.

"It is the Dark Mark, Harry!" Asia said; her voice shook "Voldemort's sign!"

"Voldemort's –"

"Harry, come on!" Hermione pulled on his collar as hard as she could.

Asia followed them as Ron led the way after collecting his miniature Krum, with Hermione tugging Harry away from the scene of the crime. They had only walked a few feet when they heard a series of pops coming from around them.

Asia quickly took a look around and discovered in an instant that the wizards who surrounded them, each had a wand out and they were pointing them at her, Harry, Ron and Hermione. Living with a Father and Mother who hit her constantly by throwing things at her and used their wands to hurt her, she quickly picked up on how to avoid their attacks when they were too much to handle.

Without pausing to think, she yelled, "DUCK!" and realized that she was not the only one to realize that.

Harry had seized the other two and pulled them down onto the ground.

"STUPEFY!" roared twenty voices - there was a blinding series of flashes and Asia saw jets of fiery red light flying over them from the wizards' wands, crossing one another, bouncing off tree trunks, rebounding into the darkness. She was terrified now. It felt like she was at the Manor and Father was throwing curses and jinx after jinx at her, to abuse his power over her. She felt her blood run cold as she felt the reverberations from the impact of the spells hitting the trees around them.

"Stop!" Asia recognized the voice that just yelled, "STOP! That's my son!"

She slowly and shakily rolled over and saw Mr Weasley treading toward them, looking terrified.

"Ron - Harry" - his voice sounded shaky - "Asia - Hermione - are you all right?"

"Out of the way, Arthur," said a cold, curt voice.

Asia stared at the wizards as they closed in on the five of them. Harry stood up, followed by Hermione and Ron; but Asia stayed on the ground, her eyes were now shut. She could still not shake away the feeling of utter horror and fear that had gripped at her heart.

"Which of you did it?" snapped the same cold voice. "Which of you conjured the Dark Mark?"

"We didn't do that!" Harry replied sharply, before she felt him sit beside her and heard his voice again but this time softer, close to a whisper, "Anya, get up. Open your eyes."

She did as he said and opened her eyes to see him staring at her in concern. She looked behind him and saw a stiff, upright, elderly man, dressed in an impeccably crisp suit and tie. The parting in his short gray hair was almost unnaturally straight, and his narrow toothbrush mustache looked as though he trimmed it using a slide rule. She recognized him as Barty Crouch from one of the _Daily Prophet_ articles she had read a few years back.

He stared at them accusingly as she stood up with Harry's help. She stared back at him, confidently, completely aware that she had nothing to be scared of. They had done nothing, and he had no right to just stun them in the middle of a forest, when they were completely vulnerable to any attacks.

"We didn't do anything!" said Ron, who was rubbing his elbow and looking indignantly at his father. "What did you want to attack us for?"

"Do not lie, sir!" shouted M Crouch. His wand was still pointing directly at Ron, and his eyes were popping - he looked slightly mad. "You have been discovered at the scene of the crime!"

Asia was now completely over her small fit and stared at him incredulously while she stood between Harry and Ron.

"Barty," whispered a witch in a long woollen dressing gown, "they're kids, Barty, they'd never have been able to."

"Where did the Mark come from, you three?" said Mr Weasley quickly.

"Over there," said Hermione shakily, pointing at the place where they had heard the voice. "There was someone behind the trees… they shouted words – an incantation -"

"Oh, stood over there, did they?" said Mr Crouch, turning his popping eyes on Hermione now, disbelief etched all over his face. "Said an incantation, did they? You seem very well informed about how that Mark is summoned, missy -"

But none of the Ministry wizards apart from Mr Crouch seemed to think it remotely likely that Harry, Ron, Asia, or Hermione had conjured the skull; on the contrary, at Hermione's words, they had all raised their wands again and were pointing in the direction she had indicated, squinting through the dark trees.

"We're too late," said the witch in the woollen dressing gown, shaking her head. "They'll have Disapparated."

"I don't think so," said a wizard with a scrubby brown beard. It was Amos Diggory, Cedric's father. "Our Stunners went right through those trees… There's a good chance we got them…

"Amos, be careful!" said a few of the wizards warningly as Mr Diggory squared his shoulders, raised his wand, marched across the clearing, and disappeared into the darkness. They watched him vanish and a few seconds later, they heard Mr Diggory shout.

"Yes! We got them! There's someone here! Unconscious! It's - but - blimey..

"You've got someone?" shouted Mr Crouch, sounding highly disbelieving. "Who? Who is it?"

They heard snapping twigs, the rustling of leaves, and then crunching footsteps as Mr Diggory re-emerged from behind the trees. He was carrying a tiny, limp figure in his arms. Asia saw that the figure was wearing a tea towel. It was a house-elf, she was sure of that.

No one moved or spoke as Mr Diggory placed the elf on the ground next to Mr Crouch's feet. Asia saw that he was completely transfixed, as his eyes blazed in his white face, staring at the elf. The other Ministry wizards stared at him.

Then he suddenly moved and strode toward the place where Mr Diggory had found the elf, while muttering something that sounded close to, "This - cannot – be. No -"

"No point, Mr Crouch," Mr Diggory called after him. "There's no one else there."

But Mr Crouch did not seem to pay attention to anyone else. Asia seemed to be the only one at loss when she glanced around to see even Ron, Hermione and Harry aware of what was going on.

"Bit embarrassing," Mr Diggory said grimly, looking down at Winky's unconscious form. "Barty Crouch's house-elf… I mean to say…"

Asia gave a quick gasp of surprise.

_What?_ She thought, _if this is Mr Crouch's elf, then she must be Winky. Dobby had told me about her. She was the house-elf who was scared of heights_.

"Come off it, Amos," said Mr Weasley quietly, "you don't seriously think it was the elf? The Dark Mark's a wizard's sign. It requires a wand."

"Yeah," said Mr Diggory, "and she had a wand."

"What?" said Mr Weasley.

"Here, look." Mr Diggory held up a wand and showed it to Mr Weasley. "Had it in her hand. So that's clause three of the Code of Wand Use broken, for a start. No non-human creature is permitted to carry or use a wand."

Just then there was another pop, and Ludo Bagman Apparated right next to Mr Weasley. Looking breathless and disorientated, he spun on the spot, goggling upward at the emerald-green skull.

"The Dark Mark!" he panted, almost trampling Winky as he turned inquiringly to his colleagues. "Who did it? Did you get them? Barty! What's going on?"

Mr Crouch had returned empty-handed. His face was still as white as ever, and his hands were shaking.

"Where have you been, Barty?" said Bagman. "Why weren't you at the match? Your elf was saving you a seat too - gulping gargoyles!" Bagman had just noticed Winky lying at his feet. "What happened to her?"

"I have been busy, Ludo," said Mr Crouch, "And my elf has been stunned."

"Stunned? By you lot, you mean? But why -?"

Comprehension dawned suddenly on his face; he looked up at the skull, down at Winky, and then at Mr Crouch.

"No!" he said. "Winky? Conjure the Dark Mark? She wouldn't know how! She'd need a wand, for a start!"

"And she had one," said Mr Diggory. "I found her holding one, Ludo. If it's all right with you, Mr Crouch, I think we should hear what she's got to say for herself."

Mr Crouch gave no answer, which Mr Diggory took as a yes, so he raised his own wand, pointed it at Winky, and said, "Ennervate!"

Winky stirred and her great brown eyes opened. She blinked several times as the silent wizards watched her. She raised herself shakily into a sitting position.

She gave a gasp when she saw the Dark Mark, and looked wildly around the crowded clearing, then burst into terrified sobs.

"Elf!" said Mr Diggory sternly. "Do you know who I am? I'm a member of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures!"

Winky began to rock backward and forward on the ground, her breath coming in sharp bursts. Asia was reminded of Dobby when she saw the state Winky was in. She glanced at Harry and caught his eye, realizing that he had been thinking the same thing.

"As you see, elf, the Dark Mark was conjured here a short while ago," said Mr Diggory. "And you were discovered moments later, right beneath it! An explanation, if you please!"

"I - I - I is not doing it, sir!" Winky gasped. "I is not knowing how, sir!"

"You were found with a wand in your hand!" Mr Diggory shouted, displaying it in front of her.

"Hey - that's mine!" Harry said.

Everyone in the clearing looked at him. Asia looked surprised at this. He never said about losing his wand. Or maybe he did, but she was not paying attention…

"Excuse me?" said Mr Diggory, incredulously.

"That's my wand!" said Harry. "I dropped it!"

"You dropped it?" repeated Mr Diggory in disbelief, "Is this a confession? You threw it aside after you conjured the Mark?"

"Mr Diggory!" Asia said, suddenly sounding very angry, as she stared at him incredulously, yet again, "Is Harry Potter likely to conjure the Dark Mark?"

"Err - of course not," mumbled Mr Diggory. "Sorry… carried away…"

"I didn't drop it there, anyway," said Harry, pointing toward the trees beneath the skull with his thumb, "I missed it right after we got into the wood."

"So," said Mr Diggory, his eyes hardening as he turned to look at Winky again, cowering at his feet. "You found this wand, eh, elf? And you picked it up and thought you'd have some fun with it, did you?"

"I is not doing magic with it, sir!" squealed Winky, tears streaming down the sides of her, "I is… I is… I is just picking it up, sir! I is not making the Dark Mark, sir, I is not knowing how!"

"It wasn't her! This is not the voice we heard!" said Hermione. She looked very nervous, speaking up in front of all these Ministry wizards, yet determined all the same. She looked at Asia for support.

"She is right," Asia said, staring determinedly at Mr Diggory, "Winky has got a squeaky voice, and the voice we heard doing the incantation was much deeper!" She looked at Hermione, who nodded, and then at Harry and Ron, "It did not sound anything like Winky, did it?"

"No," said Harry, shaking his head. "It definitely didn't sound like an elf."

"Yeah, it was a human voice," said Ron.

"Well, we'll soon see," growled Mr Diggory, "There's a simple way of discovering the last spell a wand performed, elf, did you know that?"

Winky trembled and shook her head frantically, her ears flapping, as Mr Diggory raised his own wand again and placed it tip to tip with Harry's.

"Prior Incantato!" he shouted.

Asia heard Hermione gasp, horrified, as a gigantic serpent-tongued skull erupted from the point where the two wands met, but it was a mere shadow of the green skull high above them; it looked as though it were made of thick grey smoke: the ghost of a spell.

"Deletrius!" Mr Diggory shouted, and the smoky skull vanished in a wisp of smoke.

"So," he said with a kind of savage triumph, looking down upon Winky, who was still shaking convulsively.

"I is not doing it!" she squealed, her eyes rolling in terror. "I is not, I is not, I is not knowing how! I is a good elf, I isn't using wands, I isn't knowing how!"

"You've been caught red-handed, elf!" Mr Diggory roared. "Caught with the guilty wand in your hand!"

"Amos," said Mr Weasley loudly, "Think about it… precious few wizards know how to do that spell… Where would she have learned it?"

"Perhaps Amos is suggesting," said Mr Crouch, cold anger in every syllable, "that I routinely teach my servants to conjure the Dark Mark?"

There was a deeply unpleasant silence. Amos Diggory looked horrified. "Mr Crouch… not… not at all."

"You have now come very close to accusing the two people in this clearing who are least likely to conjure that Mark!" barked Mr Crouch. "Harry Potter – and myself. I suppose you are familiar with the boy's story, Amos?"

"Of course - everyone knows -" muttered Mr Diggory, looking highly discomforted.

"And I trust you remember the many proofs I have given, over a long career that I despise and detest the Dark Arts and those who practice them?" Mr Crouch shouted, his eyes bulging again.

"Mr Crouch, I - I never suggested you had anything to do with it!" Amos Diggory muttered again, now reddening behind his scrubby brown beard.

"If you accuse my elf, you accuse me, Diggory!" shouted Mr Crouch. "Where else would she have learned to conjure it?"

"She - she might've picked it up anywhere -"

"Precisely, Amos," said Mr Weasley. "She might have picked it up anywhere… Winky?" he said kindly, turning to the elf, but she flinched as though he too was shouting at her. "Where exactly did you find Harry's wand?"

Winky was twisting the hem of her tea towel so violently that it was fraying beneath her fingers.

"I - I is finding it… finding it there, sir…" she whispered, "there… in the trees, sir.

"You see, Amos?" said Mr Weasley. "Whoever conjured the Mark could have Disapparated right after they'd done it, leaving Harry's wand behind. A clever thing to do, not using their own wand, which could have betrayed them. And Winky here had the misfortune to come across the wand moments later and pick it up."

"But then, she'd have been only a few feet away from the real culprit!" said Mr Diggory impatiently, "Elf? Did you see anyone?"

Winky began to tremble worse than ever. Her giant eyes flickered from Mr Diggory, to Ludo Bagman, and onto Mr Crouch. Then she gulped and said, "I is seeing no one, sir… no one…"

"Amos," said Mr Crouch curtly, "I am fully aware that, in the ordinary course of events, you would want to take Winky into your department for questioning. I ask you, however, to allow me to deal with her."

Mr Diggory definitely did not like the suggestion, but it was quite clear the Mr Crouch was a very important member of the Ministry, so he reluctantly nodded.

"You may rest assured that she will be punished," Mr Crouch added coldly.

"M-m-master…" Winky stammered, looking up at Mr Crouch, her eyes brimming with tears. "M-m-master, p-p-please…"

Mr Crouch stared back, his face somehow sharpened, each line upon it more deeply etched. There was no pity in his gaze.

"Winky has behaved tonight in a manner I would not have believed possible," he said slowly. "I told her to remain in the tent. I told her to stay there while I went to sort out the trouble. And I find that she disobeyed me. This means clothes."

"No!" shrieked Winky, prostrating herself at Mr Crouch's feet. "No, master! Not clothes, not clothes!"

Asia's eyes widened in horror and anger as she saw the way Winky clutched at her tea towel as she sobbed over Mr Crouch's feet.

"But she was frightened!" Asia burst out angrily, glaring at Mr Crouch, "Your elf is scared of heights, and those hooded wizards were levitating people! You cannot blame her for wanting to get out of their way!"

Mr Crouch took a step backward, away from Winky, as he stared at her the way Asia was all too familiar with. She got the looks of disgust every day from Father, Mother and Annika. She did not find it surprising when Mr Crouch gave the same look to Winky.

"I have no use for a house-elf who disobeys me," he said coldly, looking over at Asia, "I have no use for a servant who forgets what is due to her master, and to her master's reputation."

Winky's loud sobs were the only sound that penetrated the awkward silence, which was ended by Mr Weasley, who said quietly, "Well, I think I'll take my lot back to the tent, if nobody's got any objections. Amos, that wand's told us all it can - if Harry could have it back, please -"

Mr Diggory handed Harry his wand and Harry pocketed it.

"Come on, you four," Mr Weasley said quietly. But Asia did not seem to want to move, nor did Hermione; their eyes were still upon the sobbing elf. "Girls!" Mr Weasley said, more urgently. They turned and followed Harry and Ron out of the clearing and off through the trees.

"What's going to happen to Winky?" said Hermione, the moment they had left the clearing.

"I don't know," said Mr Weasley.

"The way they were treating her!" said Hermione furiously. "Mr Diggory, calling her 'elf' all the time… and Mr Crouch! He knows she didn't do it and he's still going to sack her! He didn't care how frightened she'd been, or how upset she was - it was like she wasn't even human!"

"Well, she's not," said Ron.

Asia rounded on him.

"That does _not_ mean she has got no feelings, Ronald. It is disgusting the way -"

"Asia, Hermione, I agree with you," said Mr Weasley quickly, beckoning them on, "but now is not the time to discuss elf rights. I want to get back to the tent as fast as we can. What happened to the others?"

"We lost them in the dark," said Ron. "Dad, why was everyone so uptight about that skull thing?"

"I'll explain everything back at the tent," said Mr Weasley tensely.

But when they reached the edge of the wood, their progress was impeded. A large crowd of frightened-looking witches and wizards was congregated there, and when they saw Mr Weasley coming toward them, many of them surged forward.

"What's going on in there?"

"Who conjured it?"

"Arthur - it's not - Him?"

"Of course it's not Him," said Mr Weasley impatiently. "We don't know who it was; it looks like they Disapparated. Now excuse me, please, I want to get to bed."

He led Harry, Ron, Hermione and Asia through the crowd and back into the campsite.

All was quiet now; there was no sign of the masked wizards, though several ruined tents were still smoking.

"How did you find Asia?" Mr Weasley asked when they were about to reach their tent.

"She came running out of the woods when we were running into them," Harry answered.

"Why were you coming this way, Asia?" asked Mr Weasley.

"I – I was … worried," she whispered so low that almost no one heard her, but Mr Weasley did.

He smiled at her and put his arm around her. He did not remove it all the way to their tent.

Charlie's head was poking out of the boys' tent.

"Dad, what's going on?" he called through the dark. "Fred, George, and Ginny got back okay, but the others -"

"I've got them here," said Mr Weasley, bending down and entering the tent with Asia. Harry, Ron, and Hermione entered after them.

"Asia?" said Bill, surprised to see her with his father.

She just smiled and sat down beside Ginny on one of the couches and put an arm around her.

Bill was sitting at the small kitchen table, holding a bed-sheet to his arm, which was bleeding profusely. Charlie had a large rip in his shirt, and Percy was sporting a bloody nose. Fred, George, and Ginny looked unhurt, though shaken.

"Did you get them, Dad?" said Bill sharply. "The person who conjured the Mark?"

"No," said Mr Weasley. "We found Barty Crouch's elf holding Harry's wand, but we're none the wiser about who actually conjured the Mark."

"What?" said Bill, Charlie, and Percy together. "Harry's wand?" said Fred.

"Mr Crouch's elf" said Percy, sounding thunderstruck.

With some assistance from Harry, Ron, Asia and Hermione, Mr Weasley explained what had happened in the woods. When they had finished their story, Percy swelled indignantly.

"Well, Mr Crouch is quite right to get rid of an elf like that!" he said. "Running away when he'd expressly told her not to… embarrassing him in front of the whole Ministry… how would that have looked, if she'd been brought up in front of the Department for the Regulation and Control"

"She did not do anything - she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time!" Asia snapped at Percy, who looked very taken aback. Indeed everyone was surprised at her outburst. Asia had never snapped at any of the Weasley's or anyone else as a matter of a fact.

"Asia, a wizard in Mr Crouch's position can't afford a house-elf who's going to run amok with a wand!" said Percy pompously, recovering himself.

"She didn't run amok!" shouted Hermione. "She just picked it up off the ground!"

"Look, can someone just explain what that skull thing was?" said Ron impatiently. "It wasn't hurting anyone… Why's it such a big deal?"

"Asia told you, it's You-Know-Who's symbol, Ron," said Hermione, before anyone else could answer. "I read about it in The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts."

"And it hasn't been seen for thirteen years," said Mr Weasley quietly. "Of course people panicked… it was almost like seeing You-Know-Who back again."

"I don't get it," said Ron, frowning. "I mean… it's still only a shape in the sky…"

"Ron, Voldemort and his Death Eaters sent the Dark Mark into the air whenever they killed," said Asia, ignoring the shudders and gasps.

"The terror it inspired…" Mr Weasley continued, "You have no idea. You are too young. Just picture coming home and finding the Dark Mark hovering over your house, and knowing what you are about to find inside…" he winced, "Everyone's worst fear… the very worst."

Asia took the silence for a chance to think. She thought about how she was going to get back to her tent now. She did not want to ask any of the Weasleys to take her there, so she will have to go alone in the dark. She was not looking forward to the long and lonely walk, but she had to do it to get there. She was sure she would be in deep trouble once she gets back to the Manor.

She winced in fear and apprehension of what was to come. Though she tried her best to hide her face from the others, she failed to notice that Harry was staring at her and was understanding every expression on her face.

The silence stretched for a few more moments, then Bill, removing the sheet from his arm to check on his cut, said, "Well, it did help us tonight, whoever conjured it. It scared the Death Eaters away the moment they saw it. They all Disapparated before we'd got near enough to unmask any of them. We caught the Roberts's before they hit the ground, though. They're having their memories modified right now."

"What are Death Eaters, exactly?" Harry asked.

"Voldemort's followers," Asia answered again and after noticing the shudders and winces she said, "Sorry."

"I think we saw what's left of them tonight - the ones who mAsiaged to keep themselves out of Azkaban, anyway," said Bill.

"We can't prove it was them, Bill," said Mr Weasley. "Though it probably was," he added hopelessly.

"Yeah, I bet it was!" said Ron suddenly. "Dad, we met Draco Malfoy in the woods, and he as good as told us his dad was one of those nutters in masks! And we all know the Malfoys were right in with You-Know-Who!"

"Ron!" Mr Weasley chastised him, glancing at Asia.

"Dad, the Malfoys to Asia are like Harry's Muggle relatives are to him," he said, "Don't worry!"

Asia only smiled slightly and looked down. She had removed her arm from around Ginny, and her hands were now folded in her lap, as she stared at them, suddenly finding them really interesting.

"But what were Voldemort's supporters -" Harry began. Everybody flinched. "Sorry," said Harry quickly. "What were Death Eaters up to, levitating Muggles? I mean, what was the point?"

"The point?" said Mr Weasley with a hollow laugh. "Harry, that's their idea of fun. Half the Muggle killings back when You-Know-Who was in power were done for fun. I suppose they had a few drinks tonight and couldn't resist reminding us all that lots of them are still at large. A nice little reunion for them," he finished disgustedly.

"But if they were the Death Eaters, why did they Disapparate when they saw the Dark Mark?" said Ron. "They'd have been pleased to see it, wouldn't they?"

"Use your brains, Ron," said Bill. "If they really were Death Eaters, they worked very hard to keep out of Azkaban when You-Know-Who lost power, and told all sorts of lies about him forcing them to kill and torture people. I bet they'd be even more frightened than the rest of us to see him come back. They denied they'd ever been involved with him when he lost his powers, and went back to their daily lives… I don't reckon he'd be over-pleased with them, do you?"

"So… whoever conjured the Dark Mark…" said Hermione slowly, "were they doing it to show support for the Death Eaters, or to scare them away?"

"Your guess is as good as ours, Hermione," said Mr Weasley. "But I'll tell you this… it was only the Death Eaters who ever knew how to conjure it. I'd be very surprised if the person who did it hadn't been a Death Eater once, even if they're not now… Listen, it's very late, and if your mother hears what's happened she'll be worried sick. We'll get a few more hours sleep and then try and get an early Portkey out of here."

Asia stood up and gave everyone a small smile, before walking to the entrance of the tent.

"Thank you for letting me come here," she said to Mr Weasley, "I need to go before Father becomes worried."

Ron snorted at that, but Asia ignored him and waved everyone a goodbye before walking out. She did not give anyone a chance to say anything, as she knew they would only try to stop her. She could not afford to stop any longer, nor did she want any of them to be around when Father and Mother notice her arrival. She was in a lot of trouble as it was.

"I hope they are asleep," she whispered to herself, wishing it with all her heart.


	10. Anastasia's Story

**Anastasia's Story**

It was a month to go for her eighth birthday to arrive, when the Malfoys had come to visit Anastasia's orphanage, looking for a special child to adopt. The matrons did not understand why they wanted to adopt another girl, when they already had a son and daughter. But, they had not given it any thought, seeing as they were a well-known, rich family.

Asia was delighted with the idea of having a new family to live with. She thought that the world outside would be a lovely place with a family to live life with. Little did she know that the world outside was absolutely horrible. The matron, Mrs Fernandez, who took care of her always told her to not to trust people so easily, but she was too naïve to accept that little fact.

She trusted the fake family faster than it should have been acceptable. Mrs Malfoy was so sweet to her, that she already saw her as a mother by the time they had left for the day. The same could also be said about Mr Malfoy, Draco and Annika. They were the family she had always dreamed to have one day.

She was adopted two days later and was taken over to the Malfoy Manor. She spent her first week at her new home in luxuries and an amazing room. But by the second week started and the matron from the orphanage had stopped visiting for inspection, the Malfoys started to verbally abuse her. By the age of eight, she had discovered more abusive words than innocent vocabulary.

It was during this time, she had discovered the library at the Manor. She had found it to be the most amazing thing ever. She spent hours in that place when she was not being taunted and teased by her foster family. She had always loved reading, even when she was at the orphanage. It was during this time when she had read all about Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. She had found out about Harry Potter. She had read the entire collection of old newspapers in a corner of the library and found out everything about the Malfoys' involvement with Voldemort and their claim of being under the Imperious Curse. She had never believed that piece of claim Father had made. It was easy to believe that he was a Death Eater by his own choice because of the way he thought of Muggles and any other magical or non-magical individual.

When her third week at the Malfoy Manor had begun, she was being verbally and physically abused by every member of her foster family, but Draco. She learned the hard way the lesson her matron, Mrs Fernandez had always tried to teach her. She learnt that the world was not a wonderful place after all. It was a place full of selfish and cruel people, like her foster family. They had even changed her name from Anastasia to Nastya, claiming that it was a horrid name. Even though, Asia thought the contrary, she did not want to give them another excuse to hate her and hit her more than they already did.

By the time her eighth birthday rolled around, she cried herself to sleep every day. She had been moved into a dirty broom closet in the kitchen, with only a few possessions that were old and broken. These possessions held no significance to her, whatsoever, so she threw them away after some time. The night before her birthday, she had received the worst beating she had ever received. She cried more than usual that night. Her tears did not seem to end. They did not know any end. The next morning, when she wished her miserable self a happy birthday, she wanted to cry, but never could. She thought it might be due to her crying on the previous night, and she would be able to cry again soon. But that soon never came. She had spent months trying to get herself to cry, but was always unsuccessful. No one, but Dobby, discovered her truth. Everyone in the Manor thought that she did not want to cry in front of them. But, while she felt that way, she could not cry even if she wanted to.

She had received her first dose of the Cruciatus Curse a month later. The pain was unbearable. She wanted so bad to cry, but she could not. That was when she accepted the truth. That she was stuck here till she would turn seventeen; that she could not cry anymore; that she would never be loved; that she was a coward and a broken girl now; that the world was a cruel place for someone like her to live in.

Dobby was her only friend. No matter how many times he tried to make Asia believe the contrary about the world outside, she did not believe him. She thought humans as kind and loving as Dobby the house elf existed only in the books she had read. Though before coming to the Malfoys' she had thought quite the contrary. She had thought that bad and evil people only existed in the stories she had read and heard from the matron.

She had shown signs of being a witch several times throughout the period of her adoption and her eleventh birthday. She received her Hogwarts' letter on morning of her eagerly awaited eleventh birthday. Because of her excitement she had forgotten the peeves of Lucius Malfoy. One of them was not answering loud and clearly when he asks a question. She did just that and had been tortured with the Cruciatus Curse for what seemed like hours but was only a few minutes. When later she could not walk, Mother made her stand straight in a corner without food or drink. Mother did not like it when a girl stumbled or slouched, hence the punishment.

By the time she was eleven, she had received so many scars on her body, that she was disgusted with herself. She barely wore clothes that exposed skin on even her arms, even if it was middle of July. She had become a scarred, broken girl. She was fragile and she was weak. At least that was what she thought of herself.

After twenty-second August, 1991, she had begun to have dreams. These dreams were different from any other she had ever had before. Images and flashes of people and things. They were about a boy with a lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead, who she knew was Harry Potter. He had bright green eyes and jet black, messy hair. All her dreams had him in them. Him laughing, talking, eating, sleeping, fighting, flying on a broom, etc…

She had no idea of what to make of them. She felt scared for herself and also Harry Potter, who she saw fighting against Draco, a man in a turban, a man who had a face like that of a snake and red eyes, and so much more. She wanted to know if there was anyone who could give her answers to the questions that kept piling up in her head. Headaches had become more frequent for her now and she barely got any sleep any more.

The very first time Asia had met Harry Potter was on her first trip to Diagon Alley, on the 31st of July, a couple of weeks before her birthday. She had gone with Father, Mother, Draco and Annika. Father had said that they would buy Draco's supplies first and then leave Asia to buy her own things. After leaving Asia with Draco, Father left to get Draco's books at _Flourish and Blotts'_ and Mother took Annika to _Ollivander's Wand Shop_ to get his wand.

Asia stood in a corner of _Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions_ while Draco was getting his uniform fit, standing on one of the stools in the middle of the shop in front of a mirror. She was nervous, to say the least, to be left alone with so many people she did not know. She was scared of what they might be like. This was the outside world; the world she was so scared of.

_Everything will be alright, Anastasia_ she thought to herself as she saw Madam Malkin pinning robes to Draco's size.

A few minutes later, a boy entered the shop. But he was not just any boy. He had the jet black hair that sat in an utter mess on his head, bright green, almond shaped eyes that hid behind round-rimmed glasses that were covered by his messy hair, like the boy from her dreams had. He was skinny, really skinny and small, she noticed, slightly taller than her, as tall as Draco, and wore clothes that were two sizes too big for him.

He had looked nervous when he had entered and had no one else with him, when Asia glanced behind him for any one accompanying him. She was so lost in observing his features, that she did not even notice Madam Malkin placing him on a stool beside Draco. He had not noticed her yet, as she was hidden in a corner, but she preferred it that way, anyway. Draco had already started a conversation with him, but she did not pay any attention to it.

What she did notice, however, was the scar on his forehead. He had shaken his head to remove hair from his eyes, when Asia spotted the lighting bolted scar on his forehead. She felt a smile on her face upon realizing that he was indeed the boy from her dreams. Draco was busy drawling on and on, boasting about his Quidditch abilities, to notice that he was right at that moment talking to Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived.

She had laughed internally and decided to tune into the conversation right then.

"– Know what House you'll be in yet?" Draco had asked him.

Asia had rolled her eyes at him and snorted in a very un-lady-like way, that was sure Mother would have disapproved of, at how much of a pompous jerk Draco sounded like at the moment. Draco had given her a dirty look at that, causing her to turn away.

"No," she had heard Harry reply, "What's your name?"

Asia thought that he was asking Draco, but when she did not hear him reply, she turned to see that Harry was staring at her with a questioning smile. Draco was glaring at her by then, but she ignored him, feeling quite rebellious, and smiled at Harry.

"Nastya Malfoy."

"Do you know what House you'll be in?" he had asked her. She knew he was only trying to be polite and include her in the conversation. She was still wary of trusting him, even if he was Harry Potter. She was about to say 'no' when Draco interrupted.

"She'll be in Hufflepuff, of course! They're all a lot of duffers. And I'll bet you anything, she'll be one of them," he had replied with a snigger, "I know I'll be in Slytherin, all my family have been."

"Hey! That's not a nice thing to say!" Harry had defended her with a frown on his face.

Asia had been shocked to say the least. No one had ever stood up for her and no one had shown disapproval over the way her foster family taunted and abused her; no one except Dobby.

Harry had left soon after that. She had seen Hagrid for the first time that day, too. After Draco's things were all bought and they had nothing else to do, Father gave Asia a pouch full of Galleons and told her to be back at the Leaky Cauldron in two hours. Asia was very nervous, and did not know where to begin. She had then remembered Father and Mother talking about all the shops they had to go for Draco's things. With an idea of what the names were, she headed over to _Ollivander's Wand Shop_.

She saw Harry with Hagrid again. He was talking to Mr Ollivander when she got there and heard them talking about his wand being similar to Voldemort's. She just stood by the door, listening carefully. She had felt a creepy shiver go up her spine as she heard the words that were being spoken by Mr Ollivander.

"Ah, Anastasia Malfoy," ha had said once he spotted her by the door, "I have been waiting for you all day. Your foster mother came in to buy a wand for young Mr Malfoy, but not for you."

Mr Ollivander had decided to make Harry stay and watch what wand chose Asia, and he had heartily agreed and Asia being Asia, thought he only wanted to insult her when she would not find her wand. She still did not trust him. She was also wary of Hagrid and Mr Ollivander, but when they treated her well, she started to doubt her judgement.

She had broken two vases, an ink pot and had destroyed Mr Ollivander's shelves. She was scared he would hit her, but he had only smiled and flicked his wand to put everything back to normal, before handing her a wand with a grim look on his face.

"Go on, Ms Malfoy," he had said, "Try it. Give it a wave."

She took the wand from him and before she could give it a wave, she felt warmth flood through her fingers to her shoulder to her toes, making her curl them. But then, she gave it a wave and red lights started streaming through its tip all around the room and circling Harry and her over and over again. After a few moments, the lights disappeared, but Asia kept her confused eyes on Harry.

"What was that?" she had finally broken the silence, and had turned to Mr Ollivander.

"The wand chose you, Ms Malfoy," he answered, his pale eyes glittering creepily, "Willow and phoenix feather. Fifteen inches. Lithe. I am not in the right place to give you the answers to your questions. You will understand when the time is right. You and Mr Potter are still kids, after all. You both will do great things, Ms Malfoy, great things. I cannot wait to see you fulfilling your destinies. The wand tells a lot about its owner's character. Your wand also tells me so much about you."

Asia and Harry had left the shop with Hagrid more confused than ever. She had said goodbye to the pair as soon as she got out of the shop and hurried to get the rest of her supplies before the two hours were over.

On the first of September, she had accompanied her foster family to King's Cross to board the Hogwarts' Express. As soon as she had got on the train, Draco had ordered her to get as far from him as possible. And she did as he had said, with great pleasure. She had found an empty compartment and had sat there wishing that no one came in. But Harry Potter had come and had decided to sit with her, seeing as they knew each other from Diagon Alley. She did not mind as long as he did not tease or taunt her like how she expected everyone at school to do so. They talked for a few moments making polite conversation, carefully avoiding discussing what had happened at Ollivander's. A few minutes later, a red-head had come to sit with them. He told them his name was Ronald Weasley. When he realized who Harry was he was shocked and awestruck. But when Asia told him who she was, he had started to act a little hostile toward her.

Ron never talked to her once, while Harry tried to include her in every conversation. Then a boy came in looking for his pet frog, Trevor. Asia said kindly to him that they had not seen him. Later, Hermione Granger came to them looking for the same toad. She sounded bossy and a know-it-all, but Asia liked her. She liked to read, so did Asia. After Hermione left, they started a conversation over Quidditch and Ron decided to talk to her over it; he became less rude to her after he realized that she was not being mean to him or Harry.

Then Draco had come in, with his two cronies, Crabbe and Goyle. She had met them before; they were as thick as a troll and did only what Draco said. Their parents were friends with Father and visited the Manor often. She did not like either of them or their families as a matter of fact. The encounter went somewhat like this:

"Is it true?" said Draco, "They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?"

"Yes," Harry replied.

He was looking at Crabbe and Goyle with interest.

"Oh, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle," Draco said carelessly, noticing where Harry was looking. "And my name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy."

Ron sniggered making Draco turn to him.

"Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford."

He turned back to Harry.

"You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."

Draco was completely ignoring her, as Asia noticed. He held out his hand to shake Harry's, but Harry did not take it.

"I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks," he said coolly, making Asia smirk slightly.

She watched as his pale cheeks went pink.

"I'd be careful if I were you, Potter," he said slowly. "Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents. They didn't know what was good for them, either. You hang around with riffraff like the Weasleys and that Hagrid, and it'll rub off on you."

"Draco!" Asia chastised as she, Harry and Ron stood up.

"Say that again," Ron said, his face as red as his hair.

"Or, what?" Draco sneered before turning to Asia, "Sit down, Nastya. If I were you, I would think of what Father might do if he finds out and stay silent."

"Leave, Draco," she said, knowing she was getting herself in deep trouble, but not caring anymore, "Or else."

"Oh, you're going to fight us, are you?" he sneered.

"Unless you get out now," said Harry.

"But we don't feel like leaving, do we, boys? We've eaten all our food and you still seem to have some." Draco said.

Goyle reached toward the Chocolate Frogs next to Ron - Ron leapt forward, but before he'd so much as touched Goyle, Goyle let out a horrible yell.

Scabbers, the rat, was hanging off his finger, sharp little teeth sunk deep into Goyle's knuckle - Crabbe and Malfoy backed away as Goyle swung Scabbers round and round, howling, and when Scabbers finally flew off and hit the window, all three of them disappeared, but not before Draco gave Asia a final glare as warning for what she was to come. Ron became friendlier toward Asia after that and she liked it.

After some time, Harry had asked him about her name. He asked her why she called herself Asia when her real name was Anastasia, and she introduced herself as Asia to Ron and Hermione. She was surprised that he had noticed that when Mr Ollivander had called her by her real name. She told him how her foster parents did not like the name and she was forced to use 'Nastya' as her real name.

"I like 'Anastasia' better than 'Asia' or 'Nastya'," he had said, "It suits you. But I think I'll call you 'Anya'."

"I think I prefer 'Asia'," Ron had said with a grin, "'Anastasia's is a mouthful."

They laughed at that and that was the first time she had laughed in three years. She had left the compartment to let the boys change, and they did the same for her. Hagrid had greeted them when they got off at Hogsmeade Station. He looked at Asia and smiled warmly making her like him more than she had the last time she had met him at Diagon Alley. That was when she had decided that she would visit Hagrid, the Games-Keeper, whenever she would get a chance.

Sorting was a different experience all in itself. She was nervous and indecisive of where she wanted to be put in. Slytherin would do her no good. Draco and his cronies would be there and they would bully her like her foster family did at the Manor, so she crossed out that House. Ravenclaw was for the smart and wise people. She considered herself far from that. She wanted to be a part of Gryffindor so bad, but she was sure that Gryffindor would be at the bottom of the list of possibilities where she might end up. Hufflepuff seemed like the best chance at the moment. She was kind and friendly, and she remembered Draco's comment at Madam Malkin's the other day; she was dumb, so she would end up in Hufflepuff.

What Asia found more peculiar was that she was not called out when Draco was called out. Her surname was also Malfoy, then why she was not called out before or after him was beyond her. She was the last person to be called up to the stool and her full name was still 'Anastasia Malfoy'.

_They must have put my name there as an afterthought_ she had thought, humourlessly, as she walked up to sit on the stool.

"Hmm…" she felt a voice in her head say, "Curious, really. A Malfoy but not a single drop of Slytherin blood in your veins… Peculiar… Insecurity in abundance. Suffering. Lots of pain. Great, great talent. Such greatness… Never been found in anyone who stepped foot within these walls… A personality that demands attention…"

Asia had felt her heart beat faster and faster with every passing second. She could not believe what the voice in her head was saying, that was apparently the hat.

"Brave. Oh, yes, very brave indeed," the hat repeated when it felt her insecurity and disbelief, "A hard decision to make. Destined for great things, you are… Difficult choices in the future… Maybe Slytherin…?"

Asia panicked. _Anywhere, but Slytherin. Please!_

"Not Slytherin?" the Hat sounded surprised, "Well, there you are, you just made one of the greatest decisions yourself. You have made your choice. Not Slytherin. Then where to put you…? Ravenclaw might do you good. Very wise and very smart. But not your destiny; Hufflepuff will do you no good. Well, then. It should be…. GRYFFINDOR!"

The last word was a loud shout for the entire Hall to hear. She had sighed in relief and walked to the Gryffindor table on shaky knees, to sit beside Ron.

She glanced around her to see everyone shocked that a Malfoy had been sorted into a House that was not Slytherin. She hated the stares she was getting, but the Weasleys were the first to get over the shock and clap and cheer for her with Harry and Hermione, followed by the entire table and then the whole Hall, except for the Slytherin table. She saw as Draco smirked at her from his seat between Crabbe and Goyle and waved at her tauntingly. She knew what he meant. She was in for deep trouble once she got back to the Manor for Christmas.

In their first year, Asia and Hermione were the only ones to do the spells right in Transfiguration, Charms and Defence against the Dark Arts. They both did extremely well in Potions and Herbology; and they were the only ones to think that History of Magic was not as hard as it looked like to others.

On the second day of classes, she received a huge pouch and a letter by a phoenix. Asia did not know who the phoenix belonged to, so she was vary of what she might find in the pouch. She first opened the letter that shocked her to no ends and also excited her. The letter was written in distinct loopy hand writing, she had never seen before. She read the letter thrice before she decided that she believed the person, whoever they were. She sensed no trick or mockery in it and she knew that it was someone who wished her well.

_Dear Anastasia,_

_I am aware that this might come as a shock, but I would like to inform you that I knew who your parents were. They were absolutely amazing people, at least your father was._

_The pouch contains money from your vault at Gringotts. Yes, it is your vault, and it contains the money and belongings your father had left you before he died. Not many people know that your father was married and that he had a daughter. The select few who knew are either dead, or know better than to let the word get out._

_Spend this money as you please, and I will send a certain amount to you the same way at the beginning of every year._

_I hope you are enjoying your first year away from your foster family._

_Regards,_

_Your Well-wisher._

She had spent the money buying proper clothes by owl order. She bought shoes and several other things that would make her life outside the Malfoy Manor better to live. Though she kept it a secret from everyone, not that she had anyone friends to tell to. She even bought herself a broom so that she could fly at the Quidditch pitch whenever she wanted to. Later she also bought herself a camera. She developed a talent of photography after that and spent her time not only reading and writing, but now also by taking pictures of everyone and everything around her.

She found herself wishing many times that she could be friends with the trio of them, but she refrained from doing so. She thought that it would be better if she stayed away from them. Even if she was good in her studies, she was still the same insecure and scared Asia Malfoy. She was still a loner with no friends. She sat alone in classes, spent most of her time studying either in the library or the common room. No one wanted to be friends with her because she was a Malfoy. Harry, Ron and Hermione were the only ones, who talked to her, and they even tried to get her to open up, but she was too shy to do so. She still did not trust anyone.

In their entire first year, she had helped the Golden Trio so many times, she had lost count. When she heard that there was a troll in the dungeons, she had ran to the girls' bathroom to warn Hermione and bring her to the common room with her, but it was too late because as they were about to leave, the troll had already entered. Right then Harry and Ron had come and saved them from it like knights in shining armour. She had also helped them find who Nicholas Flamel was when she had returned from the Christmas holidays, and had heard the trio talking about him. She had already read a lot about him, and knew exactly where to find the information they needed.

Every time something happened, she felt the sense of déjà vu, remembering it all from her dreams. That was when she had realized that she was seeing images from the future. But she still did not dare to tell anyone about them.

Asia had kept her promise to herself about visiting Hagrid whenever she could get the chance. Many times she had encountered the trio at his hut, during her visits. When Hagrid had showed them the Dragon, she had wanted him to get rid of it as much as the trio. Asia, Harry and Hermione had taken the dragon for Ron's brother, Charlie Weasley's friends to take away, and had gotten herself and the other two into detention with Hagrid to the Forbidden Forest. She had been with Harry when they had found the dead unicorn. She was with him when they saw the creature drinking blood from it.

When Firenze had saved them, she knew how he recognized Harry, but she had no idea how or why he knew who she was. He called her only 'Anastasia' with no surname. She was a little suspicious of that, but she did not think too much of it, as she was thinking too deep of what that creature might have been. She soon realized that the creature was none other than Lord Voldemort. She was terrified of even thinking what would happen if he was to return. She knew he would one day, and she was not scared of him; but she was scared of what he might do. She had stayed up the entire night with the trio talking about what might happen and what did everything the centaurs had said had meant, and had gone to bed when the sun woke up.

Asia had cursed Neville with the Body-Binding Curse so that the trio could save the Philosopher's stone. She was sitting in the common room, reading a story book she had borrowed from the library after her last exam, when she heard the trio getting ready to leave. She knew they thought no one else was sitting there, but she was. Neville blocked their way out, and Asia knew she had to do something about it. She petrified him and ushered the three out the portrait hole after wishing them good luck.

She had thoroughly apologized to Neville later, and was easily forgiven, but she still felt guilty for a long time after that. She had even won Gryffindor thirty points for showing the courage to stand up against a friend to let another friend to gain all the credit to save the day. It was one of the days when Asia felt a little proud of herself, but also one of the days when she knew she would get a beating once she got home.

Before leaving for the Manor, Asia had decided to talk to the Headmaster about her belongings. After the end-of-year feast, before going back up to the common room, she had stopped in the Entrance Hall to wait for Professor Dumbledore. When he came out, after all students and teachers, she asked him if she could keep her belongings that she had bought by owl order, somewhere in the Hogwarts castle. Professor Dumbledore had merely smiled at her as if he knew why she was asking him this, and told her about the Room of Requirement. He took her there and shoed her how to open it, before leaving her to hide her belongings. She left there the things that she knew the Malfoys would take away from her if they found them in her possession. This included all her new dresses, shoes, broom and her most prized possession, her camera with all the pictures she had taken of her fellow Hogwarts' students.

She did get a beating from Father on reaching home for doing something to help the 'Potter boy', her fear was proven correct. She never regretted doing it, though. She would help Harry and his friends again and again if it meant to save Hogwarts from anything evil and dark like Lord Voldemort.

The summer after that year, Asia had sent Dobby to Harry to inform him about the Chamber of Secrets and to warn him. Dobby had taken her order the wrong way and continued to stop Harry from returning to Hogwarts, which not at all what she had wanted. Annika had to start her first year at Hogwarts after summer. And she did not let a single opportunity go without mocking Asia about her own luxuries at Hogwarts, while she would be in old clothes and would look poor.

Little did Annika know that Asia had a whole trunk full of her own personal belongings that she had bought with the money that was left for her by her Father.

The next year, in the process of helping the trio, she had become really good friends with Hermione and Ginny. Ginny and she became friends because they both felt equally lonely in such a crowded place.

At the beginning of the year, she had wanted to prepare a gift for Harry before Halloween arrived. It was Harry's parents Death anniversary and she wanted to do something for him, so she had asked Harry to let her borrow the photo album Hagrid had given to him last year. He had given it to her without question and she had made a copy of many of his parents' photographs before returning the album to him.

For the entirety of the year she had practiced sketching the faces of the three Potters with different expressions. Unfortunately, her learning skills were not quick enough to pick up the sketching before that Halloween. In fact, she was still learning by the end of the year.

Asia had seen Hermione prepare the Polyjuice Potion in Myrtle's bathroom one day, and even suggested to her some tips that would help her prepare the potion faster, as she had read in one of the books in the library. When asked the reason, Hermione told her that they think that Draco might be the Heir of Slytherin, or maybe know who the Heir is.

"Maybe you are right, Hermione," Asia had answered, "Or maybe you are not. But it is worth a try. It would not be really surprising if he does turn out to be the Heir, but if he is not, then I have no idea how to find out."

Asia had continued taking pictures with her camera, but had been careful not to let Annika see it. She did not want Annika to take away the things that gave her happiness, which included her flying at the pitch every day at the times when no one was around and learning to sketch.

She and Hermione had become even closer because Asia had stayed with her in Myrtle's bathroom when she had transformed into a cat by accident. She had gone there to use the bathroom to find glasses broken on the bathroom floor, and the potion she knew Hermione had been brewing for almost a month. She had thought that they all must have left, but then Myrtle came and told her that "she looks hideous".

Asia understood that it was Hermione whose potion had gone wrong, something she found hard to believe, and was hiding in one of the cubicles.

"Hermione?" she had tentatively called, "Is it you?"

"Go away, Asia," she replied, "You don't want to see me."

"But I do," she said confidently.

Hermione had opened the door to the cubicle and showed herself. Asia, to Hermione's surprise, did not even treat her any differently than she always did. Then she explained what went wrong and all about Harry and Ron's transformations. Almost an hour later, the two boys came running into the bathroom and were shocked to see Hermione as a cat. They then told the two girls about what they had found out. Asia thought that it was a good time to let them know about the diary that Father had sent into Hogwarts through someone, so she does. She tells Harry that there is a diary that has been sent to help open the Chamber of Secrets.

"Harry, there is something you need to know," she had started.

"What?" he had asked curiously. Asia also noticed that he was surprised that she had spoken to him directly, something she was avoiding to do ever since the beginning of the year.

"There is this diary," Asia hesitated but then found the courage to speak, remembering her promise to herself about helping Harry again and again if it meant stopping anything that could harm Hogwarts. So she sighed and continued, "A diary has been snuck into Hogwarts. This is no ordinary diary, but a Dark artefact. It could be anywhere inside the castle, with anyone. I have tried to look for it, but I was unsuccessful. I thought it could have been with Draco, but after what you have said, he apparently does not have it. There is someone who has opened the Chamber of Secrets with the help of that diary. We have to find it. I have tried to check with every person I have suspected, but I did not find it with any of them…" she paused and stared at him, "I need your help."

They had started to look for the diary together, ever since, but with no success. But one day, Harry came to her and told her that he had found a diary that had T. M. Riddle written on it and he thought that it was the one they were looking for. Harry showed it to her and she responded positively, saying that it was.

Later, Asia had taken it into her own hands to find the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets when she realized that it was in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom on the first floor. She had told about it to Harry and Ron when Ginny was taken into the Chamber, and had also accompanied them inside. She had distracted the Basilisk away from Harry to save him. It was her who had suggested Harry to stab the diary, as it was the source of the entire problem in the first place.

Once again, all the events had already been seen by her in her dreams. Everything from Harry and Ron's car incident, to his encounter with the snake at the duelling club; from Hermione's petrification to Professor Lockhart's deception in the Chamber of Secrets; and also Harry and Asia's visit into the Chamber to save Ginny. She had seen everything, but she did not know either the sequence of events or the reason of the events. She was too scared to even think about what might really happen.

After rescuing Ginny, Harry and Asia took her with Ron and Professor Lockhart to Professor McGonagall's office. Mr and Mrs Weasley had hugged her really hard when Harry told them that Asia had informed them about where the entrance to the Chamber was. They had taken a special liking to her ever since then and she was glad to have received some parental affection after all the abuse from her own foster parents. They narrated everything they had done that year that had led them inside the Chamber to save Ginny.

That was when Asia found out that the phoenix that had brought her the pouches full of money and the letters for the past two years was the phoenix that had come to their aid in the Chamber; it was Professor Dumbledore's phoenix. Professor Dumbledore was her well-wisher. He knew her parents and he knew what had happened to them. He was one of the few alive who knew that her father had a daughter. She did not question him about it, though he was aware that she knew the truth now. She was glad it was someone she could trust, not a trick.

She never asked him about her parents, though… The time was not right.

When Professor Dumbledore told Harry and Asia that he wanted to talk to them privately and Father had barged into the office a few minutes later, Asia had been scared at what he might do once she got home. He had glared murderously at her when Professor Dumbledore told him how she had been with Harry and Ron to help them with the mystery.

Harry tricked Father into freeing Dobby, to Asia's delight, and even stood up against him. She saw Harry in a new light after that. Before then, he was only someone who cared about not getting himself to go to the Dark side and the one who kept his friends safe. But then, he had become a real hero to her. He cared about every one, human or not, enough to help them all when in need of a hero. Maybe that was when she had started to develop real feelings for him, she was not sure.

But she had begun to feel something for him, and she was not entirely sure if she liked it. She was not sure if it was a good thing or not. Because she was already in trouble for helping Harry and the Weasleys, she would be in deeper trouble if Father, Mother, Draco or Annika ever found out about this.

She had hidden all her belongings once again in the Room of Requirement, before heading back to her foster family's home. Once she got back to the Manor, she was severely punished for something she had not even done. Father had just vented his anger, of Dobby being freed and his humiliation of being removed from the School Governor post, on Asia. The Cruciatus Curse and other spells that created scars and wounds on her whole body (except face) were used on her.

_But I would even die if it meant helping Harry and his friends in their time of need_ Asia had thought to herself before going to bed after the foster family was done abusing her for the night.

That summer, Asia had found out about the Weasley's visit to Egypt through the _Daily Prophet_ and also the escape of murderer from Azkaban, Sirius Black. She was terrified of what he might do now that he was on the run. She had walked in on Father and Mother many times having a conversation about him, but they always halted when they saw or heard Asia around them. She had figured that they were somehow helping him, but she could never be too sure.

Asia had dreamed about Sirius Black, about dementors and about Harry flying a Hippogriff with Asia behind him. She was sure that she was to meet Sirius Black very soon, and Harry was in danger once again. After all, Black was a Death Eater.

Almost a week before they had to leave for Hogwarts, she had heard from Father about Harry blowing up his Muggle aunt. She found it hard to believe that he would ever do that, but then she thought of how he had always said that his Muggle relatives did not treat him right. She thought it might not have been too hard for him to lose control over his anger if she had said something he did not like.

At the Hogwarts' Express, she had sat with a man asleep in one of the compartments; she read on his trunk that he was called R. J. Lupin. A few minutes later, came in Harry, Ron and Hermione. They all greeted each other and Hermione had even hugged her.

Harry then told them about what he had heard at the Leaky Cauldron and also the warning from Mr Weasley. Asia was not as surprised to hear that, because she had a vague idea that Harry would be in danger with Sirius Black on the loose.

Then the Dementor had attack. Harry went unconscious after the man who was asleep chased it away with a Patronus Charm. Harry said something about a woman screaming, and Asia had explained to them about what the Dementors did to people around them.

She collected her things from the Room of Requirement, before going to bed after the feast. The next day at breakfast, Fawkes had come to deliver another pouch filled with her inherited money and a letter whishing her good luck for her third year. Professor Dumbledore did not sign his name; he still called himself her well-wisher.

First lesson was Divination and she sat with Hermione. It was an utter disaster; Professor Trelawney had even made a prediction that Harry was supposed to die by the end of the year. She felt terrified at the thought and wanted nothing more than stop her from making up such lies.

When they had left for their next lesson, that was Transfiguration and Professor McGonagall told them about her regular predictions, she had internally laughed at the way she had started to think earlier. After that, Asia had sided with Hermione about Professor Trelawney's predictions being a lie and her deep mystical aura, a fake.

With the exception of Divination, all her other lessons went great, especially Care of Magical Creatures with Hagrid. He had introduced them to Buckbeak, who Asia remembered from one of her dreams. When Hagrid had asked if anyone wanted to step up to him, Asia did not want to do so, but she later noticed that everyone but her and Harry had stepped back. Hagrid called them both forward and they bowed to the animal, before Hagrid forced them to ride it. It was really frightening to even think what the creature might do if it went haywire while they were still on its back. Asia had sat behind Harry and when she tried to hold onto Buckbeak's fur, she had almost fallen down, causing Harry to grab her wrists and forcing her to wrap her arms around his waist.

All of a sudden, she was glad that she was sitting behind him, because she could feel her face turning a very dark shade of scarlet. Once she was over her embarrassment, Asia let the air blow her hair away and out of her bun and she could feel a big smile making its way on her face. She heard Harry whoop and scream in delight at the wonderful feeling, making her laugh out loud.

By the end of class, while she was worried what might happen to Hagrid after the incident with Draco, she was glad that Draco was injured. He totally deserved it for being a mean jerk.

On her first Defence against the Dark Arts lesson with Professor Lupin, they had done boggarts. After Harry's boggart was repelled by Professor Lupin for him, they continued practicing. Asia was right after Harry and she was a bit worried at what her boggart might turn out to be.

Her boggart kept changing into different things. First, Father stood with a murderous look on his face that was directed toward her; then, Harry lying dead in a pool of blood; then Sirius Black; then Voldemort as he laughed maliciously; and it kept repeating itself. She screamed in horror, but before Professor Lupin could interfere, she yelled "Riddikulus" and then Voldemort changed to into a dementor and Father changed into Draco looking ready to wet his pants as he stared at it.

She stood there shaking vigorously, staring at boggart-Draco as he screamed like a girl before Professor Lupin closed the wardrobe and dismissed the class.

She had avoided the trio – and Draco – like the plague and had kept to herself for the entire year after that. Her dreams continued; she saw Harry saving Sirius Black, Asia helping him do it, and much more…

When the time for the first Hogsmeade weekend came, she noticed that Harry was the only one who had not received the permission to go from his Muggle relatives. She decided that it was time to put her plan to gift Harry his Halloween gift into action. She had restarted her practicing of the sketches after returning to Hogwarts for the year, so she began working on her master piece a week before Halloween. The day of the Hogsmeade visit came and she bought some wrapping and some Muggle candy before returning early to the castle. She had framed her sketch and wrapped it in a simple wrapping before setting off to look for Harry. She had roamed the castle for a few minutes before she found him in Professor Lupin's office having tea.

"Harry?" she had said when she saw him through the door, "I have been looking everywhere for you."

She stood outside the door, looking from the surprised faces of Harry and Professor Lupin. She knew Harry was surprised that Asia was talking to him as she had been avoiding him for some time; and Professor Lupin must have been surprised that she had returned so early from her visit to the village.

"Hello, Professor," she said to him, "May I come in for a minute, please?"

"Sure, Asia," he said with a smile.

She walked over to Harry and smiled, "Hey, I brought you this," she dropped the package containing the sketch on his lap, "I wanted to give it to you by last thirty-first October, but it was not finished by then."

She bit her lip nervously, suddenly thinking that it was not a great idea to give Harry the present. His eyebrows furrowed as he unwrapped the fragile package.

He had simply stared at it for at least a couple minutes. Not a word was said. She was scared what he might think of it.

She had sketched a little older looking James and Lily Potter with a thirteen year-old Harry in between. They all had huge smiles on their faces. Lily was looking at her son with love, her hands on his shoulders. James was looking at his wife and son with so much pride and adoration, he had an arm around Lily's shoulders and the other was ruffling his son's already messy hair. Harry stood in between with a Golden Snitch in his hand and a broom in his other, his eyes rolled up staring at his hairline, as if annoyed at what his father was doing, but smiling nevertheless. This was how Asia had pictured the Potter family to be like when Harry would bring victory to his team at every Quidditch match.

Then she had told Harry about her efforts over this sketch for the past year and the reason for the present. It was the thirty-first of October, Halloween, the day his parents were killed. She had left soon after Harry had whispered "Thank you" to her, his eyes were still on the sketch. She had smiled so big, knowing that Harry had like her present, then said goodbye to the two before leaving. She had to avoid Harry after all.

That was the last time she had any interaction with Harry Potter for a few months that year.

During this time, she had also figured out that Professor Lupin was a werewolf because of all the patterns of his disappearances matching with the cycle of the full moon. She also realized the symptoms in him after she studied for Professor Snape's essay on Werewolves and Animagi. She continued her hobbies, photography and flying on her broom.

Later that year, Asia had helped Harry and Hermione in rescuing Sirius Black. After her Divination exam, when she had picked up the crystal ball from the doorway, to return it to Professor Trelawney, Harry had decided to accompany her. She knew he had wanted to talk to her, but his opportunity was taken away when Professor Trelawney made the prophecy about servant reuniting with Master and the Dark Lord rising once again. They both were too shaken to start a conversation and Asia had decided to go to the library before visiting Hagrid, it was the day Buckbeak was supposed to be executed.

She had snuck down for a visit to Hagrid's, when she saw Harry, Ron and Hermione sneaking out of Hagrid's hut. She decided to hide too, after she saw Professor Dumbledore, Minister Fudge and a man with an axe coming down to Hagrid's hut as well. She knew it was inevitable now; Buckbeak was definitely going to be slayed.

She ran to hide behind a few trees and in the process bumped into someone. On looking up, she saw that it was Harry. She noticed how he had a few scratches and wounds on his face, and she also noticed how this could not be the Harry who was trying to escape from the hut under the invisibility cloak, because that trio had gone towards the castle, and this Harry and Hermione were still here, between the trees near Hagrid's hut.

"What are you two doing here?" she had whispered to them, "Were you two not with Ron over there?"

"Umm… Asia," mumbled Hermione, urgently, "It's a long story! Look, go and stay with Ron and us, over there! Please!"

"What do y –?"

"Just go, Anya!" Harry exclaimed, desperately.

Asia followed his instructions and ran past trees to find the trio near the Whomping Willow. She followed them, when all of a sudden a large black dog jumped on her, then grabbed Ron and disappeared into the Willow. Asia had no time to think because she was hit by a branch of the Whomping Willow, drowning her in an intense pain.

After a few moments, they were in the Shrieking Shack, where they found out about Sirius Black being an unregistered Animagus. Harry made Black confess that he betrayed his parents and also tackled him out of anger.

Then Professor Lupin came in and sided with Black, causing Asia to tell Harry about his condition. Professor Lupin asked her how she found out, so she answered hum by informing them about her research on werewolves for Professor Snape's essay and the moon charts for Astronomy.

Then they found out about Peter Pettigrew and the entire story about who the Death Eater was and who was the loyal friend. Professor Snape had snuck in and Asia had used the disarming spell on him that was so powerful that the effect was equal to that of a stunning spell.

On being asked, Black told them that the knowledge that he was innocent kept him sane; as it was not a happy thought, the Dementors could not drain it from him. He also often transformed into a dog, since Dementors could not affect animal emotions. After learning where Pettigrew was and knowing Pettigrew would use the opportunity to capture Harry and regain favour with his allies, Black escaped while in his Animagus form.

Professor Lupin and Sirius decided that they would kill Pettigrew for what he had done. But before they could do so, Harry and Asia stop them. Harry said that James would not have wanted his two best friends to become killers. Asia then suggested to the group that they take Pettigrew up to the castle and hand him over to Dementors after everyone heard the truth.

Then Pettigrew escaped, when Professor Lupin transformed into a werewolf, creating confusion and panic amongst the group. Ron fainted, and Hermione and Asia followed Harry as he sprinted into the forest to look for Sirius. They were attacked by dementors and before they could do anything to chase them away, Hermione fainted, and Asia was about to faint when she saw a stag galloping over to them across the Black Lake. Then she fainted, angry at herself for not being able to protect Harry or any other of his friends and letting Pettigrew escape.

She woke up in the Hospital Wing and saw Harry and Hermione awake too. Ron was still unconscious when they had come to. They could hear the Minister and Professor Snape talking right outside the door. Madam Pomfrey was giving them some chocolate, when Harry stood up and demanded to see Professor Dumbledore.

Asia had gone with Hermione and Harry to rescue Sirius and Buckbeak. While they were hiding in the trees next to Hagrid's hut, she saw herself coming down the hill to meet Hagrid. She hid behind another tree next to Harry and saw as she bumped into him and asked them the reason for their presence here and under the invisibility cloak, at the same time.

After Harry sent her away, she walked out of her hiding place and said to them, "Do I really look that skinny?"

Harry had given her a look at that, shutting her up in an instant and then focusing on the task at hand.

After a couple of hours, they were sitting in the forest, facing the Whomping Willow, when Harry told her and Hermione about the stag he had seen. He said that he thought it was his father. Asia knew how he had felt at the moment, so she simply held his hand without saying a word. Then they found out that the stag was none other than Harry's Patronus, when Harry saved him, Asia, Hermione and Sirius from the Dementors' attack.

They had flown up to Professor Flitwick's office window and rescued Sirius soon after that. Sirius hugged Asia before leaving, saying that she was an amazing friend and a very strong witch. Asia thought that she could have cry if she had the ability to. After bidding Sirius goodbye and watching him fly off on Buckbeak, the three of them ran back to the Hospital Wing. Professor Dumbledore let them in and as soon as they got inside, everything went chaotic outside. Professor Snape had come in saying that they were the ones who helped Sirius Black escape, causing everyone to look at him as if he was mad. The Minister said that the kids were inside this entire time, and said to him that he needs to calm down. After the Minister and the Professors Snape and Dumbledore had left, Ron woke up and Hermione told him the entire story of the three of them travelling back in time with Hermione's Time-turner.

The next day, Asia and the trio had heard that Professor Lupin had resigned from his post of their Defence against the Dark Arts teacher because everyone now knew that he was a werewolf. Asia and Harry rush up to meet him and try to persuade him to stay, but he denies saying that he did not want to endanger any more students. Before leaving, he had returned Harry his invisibility cloak and the Marauder's Map that, Asia had earlier found out, the Weasley twins had given to him. He tells the pair that the stag was Harry's father's Animagus form. When Dumbledore had come in to inform Professor Lupin that his carriage had arrived, Asia had decided to walk him to them, despite his protests.

"I saw you coming," Professor Lupin had said when Harry and Asia had barged into his office after hearing from Hagrid that he was leaving. He had pointed at a piece of parchment on the desk in front of him.

"We just saw Hagrid," said Harry, "And he said you'd resigned. It's not true, is it?"

"I'm afraid it is," he had replied.

He started opening his desk drawers and taking out the contents.

"Why?" Asia had asked, anxiously, "The Ministry of Magic do not think you were helping Sirius, do they?"

Lupin crossed to the door and closed it behind them.

"No. Professor Dumbledore managed to convince Fudge that I was trying to save your lives." He sighed. "That was the final straw for Severus. I think the loss of the Order of Merlin hit him hard. So he — err — accidentally let slip that I am a werewolf this morning at breakfast."

"You're not leaving just because of that!" exclaimed Harry.

Lupin smiled wryly.

"This time tomorrow, the owls will start arriving from parents…They will not want a werewolf teaching their children, Harry. And after last night, I see their point. I could have bitten any of you…That must never happen again."

"You're the best Defence against the Dark Arts teacher we've ever had!" said Harry. "Don't go!"

Professor Lupin had only shaken his head, and without a word had continued emptying his drawers.

Then he said, "From what the headmaster told me this morning, you saved a lot of lives last night, Harry. If I'm proud of anything I've done this year, it's how much you've learned…Tell me about your Patronus."

"How d'you know about that?" said Harry, distracted.

"What else could have driven the Dementors back?"

Harry told Professor Lupin what had happened, and when he had finished, Professor Lupin was smiling again.

"Yes, your father was always a stag when he transformed," he said. "You guessed right…that's why we called him Prongs."

Lupin threw his last few books into his case, closed the desk drawers, and turned to look at Asia and Harry.

"Here — I brought this from the Shrieking Shack last night," he said, handing Harry back the Invisibility Cloak. "And…" He hesitated, and then held out the Marauder's Map too. "I am no longer your teacher, so I don't feel guilty about giving you back this as well. It's no use to me, and I daresay you two, Ron, and Hermione will find uses for it."

Harry took the map and grinned, making Asia smile a little.

"You told me Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs would've wanted to lure me out of school…you said they'd have thought it was funny."

"And so we would have," said Lupin, now reaching down to close his case. "I have no hesitation in saying that James would have been highly disappointed if his son had never found any of the secret passages out of the castle."

There was a knock on the door. Harry hastily stuffed the Marauder's Map and the Invisibility Cloak into his pocket.

It was Professor Dumbledore. He did not look surprised to see Harry and Asia there.

"Your carriage is at the gates, Remus," he said.

"Thank You, Headmaster."

Lupin picked up his old suitcase and the empty Grindylow tank.

"Do you really have to leave?" Asia had said to him in a small voice. She was sadder due to the fact that he was leaving because of what others would think of him.

"Yes, Asia," he replied while giving her a sad smile, "I really have to leave."

"But…but –" she tried to think of something to say, "Oh, this is utterly ridiculous!" she finally blurted, without thinking, "I feel so helpless!"

"Asia," Professor Lupin said, "You don't have to feel helpless. This is my decision and you really can't do anything about it."

She sighed and nodded, dejectedly.

"Well — good-bye, Harry, Asia," he said, smiling. "It has been a real pleasure teaching you. I feel sure we'll meet again sometime. Headmaster, there is no need to see me to the gates, I can mAsiage…"

Asia knew he had wanted to leave as quickly as possible, but she had other plans.

"Good-bye, then, Remus," said Dumbledore soberly. Lupin shifted the Grindylow tank slightly so that he and Dumbledore could shake hands.

"Wait!" Asia had stopped him before he could leave, "I want to see you to the gates, Professor."

"Asia, there –"

"Yes, there is," she said with finality, before giving him a look.

She walked up to him and said, "Give me the tank. I would look like an idiot walking empty-handed beside you when you are carrying so much."

She had all but snatched away the tank from him and nodded at Harry and Professor Dumbledore before walking out the office.

Professor Lupin had been surprised at Asia's sudden action causing him to stare after her for a few moments. He snapped out of it and then, with a final nod to Harry and a swift smile, he left the office.

They were nearing the carriage when she had spoken again with a sigh, "Thank you, Professor Lupin."

He looked surprised at first but then smiled and shook his head, "You are full of surprises, Asia. What are you thanking me for, exactly?"

"For being…" Asia tried to think of words that could express exactly how grateful she was that he had come into their lives.

"– a werewolf?" he said with a wry smile, before she could say anything, "For ruining Harry's chance at living like a normal kid for once with a father-figure in his life?"

"Does it really matter?" Asia had asked him as they came to a stop in front of the gates, "My best friend is a house-elf, Professor. That does not stop me from caring for him. Last year it was him, who had put Harry's life in risk thinking that he was helping him. Does that stop me from loving him? It does not matter what you are, Professor. It matters who you are. And you, Sir, are Remus John Lupin. _The_ best Defence against the Dark Arts teacher we have ever had. I think I am safe in saying that you also are an amazing friend. And I know Sirius would have agreed with me if he was here. You have nothing to blame yourself for."

"You remind me so much of Lily," He whispered, "You're just like her."

"I do not think I am even half of the amazing woman she was," she replied, "She was perfect, Professor. I am far from it."

"You have so much to discover about yourself, Asia," he sighed before taking the tank from her placing it with the rest of his luggage in the carriage, "Anyway, I think I am no longer your Professor, so you should be safe in calling me by my name."

"Okay, Remus," she gave him a smile.

"You made that sketch for Harry…" he said, trailing off.

"Yes?" she was surprised that he had seen the sketch, "How…?"

"Harry had shown it to me after you had left that day," he replied, "Please, keep making him happy when he isn't."

"Remus," she smiled, "I have done that for some time now. And I promise, I will keep doing it, if that is what you want."

"Thank you," he smiled, "Now, before I say good bye," he said, "I want to know why you wanted to leave Harry and Dumbledore alone all of a sudden?"

"You noticed," She smiled sheepishly before answering, "Did you not see in Harry's eyes how many questions he had? I knew Professor Dumbledore would be the only one to answer those for him, so I thought it was a good chance to leave them alone."

"Smart choice," he had mused, "Well then, this is goodbye, Asia."

"Goodbye, Prof – I mean, Remus."

She had surprised him with a hug when she said that, but he had returned it happily. They let go after a few moments, and then Remus John Lupin had left Hogwarts behind.

At the end-of-year feast, they had won the Quidditch Cup as well as the House Cup. Asia was sad to leave Hogwarts once again, and she was sure she felt Harry's gloom too. Neither of them had wanted to return to their "homes" for the summer, but they had no choice either.

Asia had once again hidden all her possessions in the Room of Requirement and had carried with her only the things she had bought from the Manor and a photograph of Harry James Potter. The boy she had grown to care deeply about, more than her own self.

On her journey back, the only thing she had been looking forward to was the Quidditch World Cup that was supposed to occur on her fourteenth birthday.


	11. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Back to Hogwarts**

The weeks back had been a disaster for Asia: she barely got any food, as a punishment from Father and Mother; she was forced to wake up before the sun every day to complete all her chores on time; she was abused more because the start of the new term was near; and she went to bed hours after midnight with her body aching.

The morning they had returned from the World Cup, Father had been furious at her. He was angry that she had received attention from the Minister and he even had the tendency to punish her for grabbing the attention of the Irish and Bulgarian Quidditch players. She was given a dose of the Cruciatus Curse and a few other wounding spells that created bruises and wounds all over her body.

After the episode, she had to clean up after herself – the blood and the broken artefacts – and then clean up her wounds before preparing breakfast and doing her regular chores. Her entire body was going through loads of pain, by the time she had served dinner and had cleaned up for the day. She grabbed the copies of the day's _Daily Prophet_ before retiring to her closet, to read what the reporters had written about the incident that occurred at the World Cup.

_Of course, _she thought, _Rita Skeeter would have a field day over this_.

Rita Skeeter had given foul information that would definitely start rumours about deaths and missing persons. She read under the light of her dim candle.

"If the terrified wizards and witches who waited breathlessly for news at the edge of the wood expected reassurance from the Ministry of Magic, they were sadly disappointed. A Ministry official emerged sometime after the appearance of the Dark Mark alleging that nobody had been hurt, but refusing to give any more information. Whether this statement will be enough to quash the rumours that several bodies were removed from the woods an hour later, remains to be seen."

_The Ministry official was Mr Weasley_ she thought, resentfully, _and there _were_ no rumours! At least not before you spread them, you – cow!_

She went to sleep immediately after that. But, as usual, her sleep was not peaceful.

Under water. She was under water. How could she breathe? She saw someone swimming towards her. Who was it? He looked a little familiar. Black hair, round rimmed glasses…

_Harry!_

Why was he under water? How was he so deep under water? How could he breathe? How could she breathe? He swam right through her.

_How…?_

She was dreaming. She realized just then. She should have known.

_Why is Harry here?_

She followed him, and saw that he was nearing four figures tied to something. Who were they?

_Is that… Ron? Hermione? Who is that blonde girl? And is that Cho Chang? What are they doing?_

As they neared them (Asia following Harry) she realized that they were unconscious.

_What the…? Why are they in the middle of some…lake? Unconscious and tied?_

Suddenly everything changed. She was once again standing within a crowd of spectators. This time it was in the Quidditch pitch stands. What was it now? Suddenly she saw a blue light. Then right where the blue light had been she saw two figures. One was who she immediately recognized as Harry. But the second…? She ran over to where Harry and the other person were. She had the advantage that no one could see her here. As she neared the two, she realized that the second person was none other than Cedric Diggory. His eyes were open, but…

_Dead?_

Harry was sobbing over his body. She was shocked. She could not move.

Then everything disappeared once again. She was standing on the top of the stairs that stopped into the Entrance Hall. She saw so many people there. They were all dressed in their best dress robes.

Surprised with the sudden change and still not over the initial shock of seeing a dead Cedric, she failed to notice someone walking down the stairs behind her. A few moments later, she felt eyes on her. She snapped out of her trance and looked down to see Harry, in the same dress robes she had chosen for him, watching her as if she was the only girl on the planet.

_He cannot see me, can he?_

Instinctively, she glanced over her shoulder to check if it was someone else he was staring at.

She was right.

Behind Asia stood an amazingly beautiful girl. She was wearing a gorgeous black dress that contrasted well with her fair skin. Her black curls cascaded down her waist like a waterfall. Half of her face was covered with a black and brown mask that made her bright, amber eyes stand out. Her arms were covered with delicate sleeves and the dress covered everything but her small feet in black sandals. She was wearing no jewellery or makeup, but a locket that Asia found strangely familiar and some brown gloss on her lips.

Asia could see as she pulled on her skirt. She was nervous; and did not like the attention she was receiving. She looked like someone Asia knew, but she could not put her finger on exactly who she was.

Standing on the same spot, Asia watched as the girl slowly walked down the remaining steps gracefully. Her elegant demeanour demanded attention, which was something she apparently did not want.

Asia watched as Harry walked up to her at the foot of the staircase and asked her, "Do you have a date for tonight?" She could hear the nervousness in his voice.

The girl said nothing, but merely shook her head.

"Would you do me the honour of being my date?" Asia's heart gave a hurtful pang as she watched the girl slowly nod her head and place her hand in a smiling Harry's, "Mind you, we have to open the first dance with the rest of the champions…"

Everything around them went black, as she watched Harry walk the girl into the Great Hall with three other couples, huge smiles on both of their faces as they chatted along the way.

_Champions?_

Asia woke up with a start. She was still in her bed inside her closet, back at the Manor. Her body still aching from the beating and torture she had received last night.

The days after that went as usual, with the exception of being abused more severely than before. She knew the reason was not only the fact that she had a good time at the World Cup, but it was because summer was almost over and they would not get the chance to bother her for an entire year. They knew she would have a good time at Hogwarts as she usually does, at least better than her time with them at the Manor. Every night, she would go to bed with bloody wounds and aching bruises all over her body. Every morning, she would have to clean these wounds and tend to the bruises with heated pads or some sort of medicinal potion she would find somewhere in the storage cupboards or the pantry.

There was pain in her ribs because of being tortured with the Cruciatus Curse almost every day. There was pain in her legs because of the running around for finishing the chores she had in addition to the usual kicks in the legs. The rest of her body ached because of the wounds inflicted on her from Father and Mother's wands and the regular punches and kicks.

Asia and Draco barely talked to each other during this time. After the things Draco had said to Harry, Ron and Hermione, she did not have the guts to think of him as someone who could ever improve to be a better person. She had given him a glare once when he tried to joke with her one morning, as if nothing wrong had happened, and that was the last time they had any communication for the rest of the summer.

She could not wait to get back. She wanted to go through all her things stored in the Room of Requirement. She had to buy new things and throw a few away. But then again, she would not throw anything away. She would donate them over to some orphAsiage, where she knew helpless kids needed things like clothes, books, and much more. She was once, and still is, one of them. She wanted those kids to have the luxuries she never received when she was their age.

Over the course of the last two weeks of summer, she had walked in on her foster family discussing some sort of event that was supposed to happen at Hogwarts. She knew now, through her dreams, that there was a formal all occurring this year, but they were talking about something else.

It was something that excited both Draco and Annika.

_What could possibly excite Annika more than the idea of a ball?_ Asia thought as she prepared their last dinner before she left for Hogwarts.

Several times, she had walked in on the four Malfoys talking excitedly about the event, but they would immediately stop talking when she would enter. She vaguely wondered if this had anything to do with the dreams about the dragon, Harry being under water or the dream in which Cedric dies. She never even got the chance to think over it, due to the burden of chores and the sleepless and painful nights.

It was like the Sirius Black incident all over again. She was kept in the dark about Sirius Black's reality too, even though she lived under the same roof as the Malfoys.

Thinking about Sirius reminded her about the rescue mission she had taken up with Harry and Hermione last year. Asia did not even remember asking Harry at the World Cup if he knew where his godfather was. She smiled at the thought that Harry must have had a person close to a father that he would have written to this summer. He would get mail this year and for the years to come.

She felt happy. For Harry. She had always felt happy when she had the knowledge that Harry was happy. Asia knew that she could never be happy for herself, seeing the conditions she lived in, so she always tried to find happiness in that of others'.

The next morning, Asia woke up with the sun, as usual and she did not have any new wounds to treat today, so after having a slow and painful bath in the hallway bathroom, and tending to old wounds, she prepared breakfast for herself.

It was because neither Father nor Mother had touched her last night. They knew if she had difficulty in walking or felt pain with any movement, people would question her and would become suspicious. They were very careful when it came to others discovering the fact that the Malfoys abused their foster daughter.

After eating breakfast, doing her regular chores, and preparing breakfast for the others, Asia packed the remaining small amount of possessions she had into her trunk and pulled it out into the foyer, before going up to Annika's room and to do the usual last minute packing. Annika deliberately kept unpacking her clothes every day after Asia would fold and pack them, increasing her work and causing Father and Mother to be angry at her.

After spending another half an hour in Annika's room, packing and repacking her trunks – there were two of them – she dragged each of them down the two flights of stairs to the foyer. By the time she was done, her ribs ached severely and she was sure that still-fresh wounds needed cleaning up again. But ignoring her pain, she then sprinted up to Draco's room to grab his trunk, but Draco was already bringing his down when Asia reached the foot of the stairs. She ignored him and went back to the kitchen to make the tea for Father and Mother they had before leaving for King's Cross every year.

An hour later, they were walking through the barrier that gave them way to platform nine and three-quarters. They had taken Ministry cars to King's Cross and had twenty minutes till Hogwarts' Express left the platform. Annika and Draco, both, disappeared as soon as they crossed the barrier and Asia turned to Mother and Father knowing that they had some not-so-nice departing words to say to her.

"Do as Draco and Annika say," said Mother with something between a frown and a glare, "And I will have them keep an eye on you. If you so much as think of going to the ball, you will be dead before you can say the word 'Hogwarts'!"

"Just get your lousy face away from my sight!" snapped Father, in the same monotonous and cold voice.

"I hope you have a good year, Father, Mother," Asia said politely before turning to disappear into the crowd of other Hogwarts' students and their families saying goodbye to each other.

She dragged her trunk behind her and found an empty compartment halfway through the train. She sat down, sighing with relief to have her aching body relax, and stared outside at all the happy and excited faces of both, kids and parents. She felt a little depressed that she did not have parents like these loving ones to say goodbye to every summer. But she did not even get enough time to dwell on the thought as a second later, she heard someone sliding the door open to her compartment.

She turned to see that it was Hermione carrying her trunk and Crookshanks, followed by Ron and Hermione. They did not notice her sitting beside the window at first, but then Hermione was about to stow her trunk onto the luggage rack over the seats when she saw Asia.

"Oh hi, Asia," she said to her with a surprised smile.

"Hi," Asia replied with a small smile of her own.

"Hey, Asia," said Ron from behind Hermione with a goofy grin, "Why is it that we always end up finding a compartment to sit together when we don't even plan on it?"

"Ron!" Hermione nudged him in the ribs.

"Maybe it's fate," piped Harry from beside Ron as he hauled his trunk onto the luggage rack, "We're supposed to be friends who stick together despite all the hardships." He turned to look at her and smiled.

Harry had said something that touched a nerve, but she had no idea how he had put his finger on exactly what the problem was. Asia knew Harry was aware of her hesitation on being friends with anyone at school, but she had never up and said anything about it to him. He understood. And that was all that mattered.

"Come," he said to her after the three of them were done stowing their luggage, "Come and say goodbye to Mrs Weasley and the others."

Asia did not argue and wordlessly stood up and followed the trio out of their compartment and out of the train, onto the platform where Charlie and Bill stood with Mrs Weasley. She did not see Mr Weasley or Percy anywhere, so she guessed that they were at work.

"Hello, Mrs Weasley," Asia said as she reached her.

"Oh, Asia!" said Mrs Weasley, "How wonderful to see you again! How are you, dear?"

Asia merely smiled and shrugged in response, not in the mood to lie to the lovely woman by saying that she was fine. But she did not even need to say anything because the next second she was being squashed in her tight embrace, causing her wounds and bruises to cry in pain. She must have winced or flinched because the next thing she knew was someone had grabbed her arm and was pulling her out of the hug.

She turned to see that it was Harry.

"Are you okay, Anya?" he asked her. He was looking at her worriedly.

She just nodded and looked away to smile at a confused looking Charlie.

"Hel –"

"Don't lie to me, Anastasia," Harry interrupted Asia as she was greeting the two older Weasley sons, causing her to look back at him and then close her eyes because of the look on his face. He still had his hand on her forearm which caused sparks to flow from where his hand touched her all the way to her toes. "What happened?"

"Harry, what do you think?" she whispered to him with her eyes closed as she felt her ribs protesting in pain.

"They hurt you," Asia opened her eyes and saw that he had his eyes shut tightly and his jaw was clenched.

"It is not that bad, Harry," she tried to persuade him which she knew was useless, "I will be fine after a good night's sleep."

"What's going on?" she heard Mrs Weasley's voice as Harry was about to say something.

_Why is he always interrupted whenever he tries to say something to me?_ She thought.

"Nothing, Mrs Weasley," Asia replied quickly, looking away from Harry and smiling up at her, "Harry was just asking me something."

"Hmm," she said with a disbelieving look on her face but she let it go when she saw Fred, George and Ginny walking toward them through the steam.

Asia looked back at Harry and sent him a pleading look.

_Just let it go, please…_ she said to him in her head, hoping he would get it, _At least for now._

Apparently he got what she was saying because he rolled his eyes and nodded his head slightly before looking away to shake hands with Bill.

She turned to back to Charlie and smiled at him. He was staring at her suspiciously.

"Hello, Charlie," she greeted him, "How have you been?"

"Better than you, I'm pretty sure," he said slowly, as he narrowed his eyes at her.

"I am pretty sure too, Charlie," she replied with a light laugh, "Are you going to go back to Romania soon?"

"No," he replied with a small smile, apparently deciding to let it go, "I am staying for a little longer. I'll probably still be here by next summer."

"That is wonderful," she replied with a smile.

Before she could say anything else, Bill came to stand beside Asia.

"Hello, Asia," he said to her.

"Hello, Bill. How are you?"

"I'm good! You?"

"I am okay, you could say," she said with a shrug.

"Hello again, Asia," she heard the twins chorus from behind her.

"Hi, you two," she said.

"I might be seeing you all sooner than you think," said Charlie, grinning, as he hugged Ginny good-bye.

Asia turned to him and gave him a questioning look.

"Why?" Fred asked suspiciously.

"You'll see," said Charlie. "Just don't tell Percy I mentioned it… it's 'classified information, until such time as the Ministry sees fit to release it,' after all."

"Has this got something to do with that ball they are having this year?" Asia asked them.

"Yeah. I sort of wish I were back at Hogwarts this year," said Bill, hands in his pockets, looking almost longingly at the train.

"Why?" George asked, impatiently.

"You're going to have an interesting year," said Bill, with a twinkle in his eyes, "I might even get time off to come and watch a bit of it."

"A bit of what?" said Ron.

Before any of them could say anything, the train started whistling and they were ushered toward the train entrance by Mrs Weasley.

"Thanks for having us to stay, Mrs Weasley," Hermione said after they were on board and were leaning against the closed door to say good bye.

"Yeah, thanks for everything, Mrs Weasley," said Harry.

"Oh it was my pleasure, dears," said Mrs Weasley. "I'd invite you for Christmas, but… well; I expect you're all going to want to stay at Hogwarts, what with… one thing and another."

"Mum!" said Ron irritably. "What d'you three know that we don't?"

"You'll find out this evening, I expect," said Mrs Weasley, smiling. "It's going to be very exciting - mind you, I'm very glad they've changed the rules -"

"What rules?" said Harry, Ron, Asia, Fred, and George together.

"I'm sure Professor Dumbledore will tell you… Now, behave, won't you? Won't you, Fred? And you, George?"

There was a loud hissing sound from the train's pistons and then the train started to move.

"Tell us what's happening at Hogwarts!" Fred bellowed out of the window as Mrs Weasley, Bill, and Charlie sped away from them. "What rules are they changing?"

But they got no answers but a smile from the three of them as they Disapparated before the train could even turn the corner.

Asia, Harry, Ron, and Hermione went back to their compartment.

Asia sat back beside the window but it was useless to watch outside as the rain was too heavy to make anything visible. So instead she watched as Ron undid his trunk, pulled out something lacy and maroon, and flung them over the cage, in which sat the owl Ron had got from Sirius last year, to muffle his hooting.

"Bagman wanted to tell us what's happening at Hogwarts," he said as he grumpily, sat down next to Harry, "At the World Cup, remember? But my own mother won't say. Wonder what —"

"Shh!" Hermione suddenly whispered while pressing her fingers to her lips.

She pointed toward the compartment next to theirs. Asia, Harry and Ron listened, and heard a familiar drawling voice drifting in through the open door.

It was Draco, as usual. Asia sighed as she strained her ears to listen to exactly what he was saying.

"… Father actually considered sending me to Durmstrang rather than Hogwarts, you know. He knows the headmaster, you see. Well, you know his opinion of Dumbledore - the man's such a Mudblood-lover - and Durmstrang doesn't admit that sort of riffraff. But Mother didn't like the idea of me going to school so far away. Father says Durmstrang takes a far more sensible line than Hogwarts about the Dark Arts. Durmstrang students actually learn them, not just the defence rubbish we do…"

Asia sighed once again, but this time in exasperation, before slowly standing up and walking to the compartment door and shutting it silently to block the annoying boastful voice of her foster brother. She walked back as slowly, but this time because her ribs still pained from the tight hug she had received from Mrs Weasley.

"So he thinks Durmstrang would have suited him, does he?" Hermione said angrily, "I wish he had gone, then we wouldn't have to put up with him."

"Durmstrang's another wizarding school?" Asked Harry.

"Yes," Asia answered rather sniffily, "and it has got a horrible reputation. According to what I have heard and read, it puts a lot of emphasis on the Dark Arts."

"I think I've heard of it," said Ron vaguely. "Where is it? What country?"

"Well, nobody knows, do they?" said Hermione, raising her eyebrows.

"Err - why not?" said Harry.

"There has traditionally been a lot of rivalry between all the magic schools. Durmstrang and Beauxbatons like to conceal their whereabouts so nobody can steal their secrets," Asia said with a sarcastic smile.

"Come off it," said Ron, starting to laugh, "Durmstrang's got to be about the same size as Hogwarts — how are you going to hide a great big castle?"

"But Hogwarts is hidden," said Hermione, in surprise. "Everyone knows that… well, everyone who's read Hogwarts, A History, anyway."

"Just you, then," said Ron, "You and Asia," he added when he noticed Asia's raised eyebrows, "So go on - how d'you hide a place like Hogwarts?"

"It is bewitched," said Asia, "If a Muggle looks at it, all they see is a mouldering old ruin with a sign over the entrance saying DANGER, DO NOT ENTER, UNSAFE."

"So Durmstrang'll just look like a ruin to an outsider too?"

"Maybe," Hermione answered with a shrug, "or it might have Muggle-repelling charms on it, like the World Cup stadium. And to keep foreign wizards from finding it, they will have made it Unplottable–"

"Come again?" Harry said.

"You can enchant a building so it is impossible to plot on a map," Asia said.

"Err… okay," said Harry, clearly clueless about what the piece of information he just received.

"But I think Durmstrang must be somewhere in the far north," said Hermione thoughtfully. "Somewhere very cold, because they've got fur capes as part of their uniforms."

"Ah, think of the possibilities," said Ron dreamily. "It would've been so easy to push Malfoy off a glacier and make it look like an accident… Shame his mother likes him…"

Asia laughed at that, but the immediately stopped when she felt the pain in her ribs intensify. The trio noticed but did not say anything knowing the reason behind the pain and also aware of the fact that she was now safe for a few months before they had to go back for next summer.

By midday the rain had become heavier, as they had moved farther north, and the lanterns were also lit early because of the windows being so steamy due to the rain. When the lunch trolley came, Harry bought a large stack of Cauldron Cakes for them to share.

Throughout the journey, many of their class fellows visited them, including Seamus Finnigan who still wore his green rosette from the World Cup, Dean Thomas and Neville Longbottom. After half an hour or so, Hermione grew tired of the endless Quidditch talk and buried herself in The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 4, and started trying to learn a Summoning Charm. But Asia was comfortable with just listening to the conversation even though she did not contribute to it, not even once.

She watched as Neville listened jealously to the others' as they relived the Cup match.

"Gran didn't want to go," Neville sad miserably, "Wouldn't buy tickets. It sounded amazing though."

"It was," said Ron. "Look at this, Neville…"

He rummaged through the stuff in his trunk, up in the luggage rack and pulled out the miniature figure of Viktor Krum.

"Oh wow," said Neville enviously as Ron rolled Krum onto his hand.

"We saw him right up close, as well," said Ron. "We were in the Top Box -"

"For the first and last time in your life, Weasley."

Draco had appeared in the doorway, unnoticed even by Asia as she was too busy watching her fellow Gryffindors talking.

Behind Draco stood Crabbe and Goyle, his two cronies, both of whom appeared to have grown at least a foot during the summer.

_Looks like he was listening into their conversation through the compartment door_ she thought, feeling quite annoyed that he had to come and disturb their peace.

"Don't remember asking you to join us, Malfoy," Harry said coolly.

"Weasley… what is that?" said Draco, pointing at Pigwidgeon's (she found out what the owl's name was from Hermione) cage. A sleeve of the maroon piece of cloth, what looked like robes, was dangling from it, swaying with the motion of the train. The sleeve was mouldy and lacy. Asia's eyes grew wide as she sensed what was to come.

When Ron tried to hide the robes, Draco had already reached for it and pulled it off the cage.

"Look at this!" he exclaimed in ecstasy.

He was holding up Ron's robes and was showing them to Crabbe and Goyle, "Weasley, you weren't thinking of wearing these, were you? I mean - they were very fashionable in about eighteen ninety…"

Asia realized that they were indeed dress robes which Ron was to wear to the formal occasion.

"Eat dung, Malfoy!" Ron said as he flushed to the same colour as the dress robes.

He snatched them back out of Draco's grip as he howled with derisive laughter; Crabbe and Goyle guffawed stupidly.

"So… going to enter, Weasley? Going to try and bring a bit of glory to the family name? There's money involved as well, you know… you'd be able to afford some decent robes if you won…"

"What are you talking about?" Ron snapped at him, clearly not in the mood of Draco's teasing.

"Are you going to enter?" he repeated. "I suppose you will, Potter? You never miss a chance to show off, do you?"

"Either explain what you are on about or go away, Draco," Asia said to him irritably.

A pleased smile spread across Draco's pale face.

"Don't tell me you don't know?" he said delightedly, "You never heard us talking about it?"

Asia then remembered the times the Malfoys had stopped conversing because of her presence in the room.

"I would have if you lot would tell me," she snapped at him, "You went silent whenever I walked into the room."

He laughed at her expense, but said nothing to her before turning back to Ron.

"You've got a father and brother at the Ministry and you don't even know? My God, my father told me about it ages ago… heard it from Cornelius Fudge. But then, Father's always associated with the top people at the Ministry… Maybe your father's too junior to know about it, Weasley… yes… they probably don't talk about important stuff in front of him…"

He laughed once again and walked out of their compartment, beckoning Crabbe and Goyle to follow.

Ron angrily got to his feet and slid the door shut with such force that the glass shattered. Asia winced with the sound, clearly familiar with it from all the times she had been hit with it at the Manor.

"Ron!" Hermione chastised before pulling out her wand and muttering "Reparo!" making the shattered pieces change back to a single glass pane and back into the door.

"Well… making it look like he knows everything and we don't…" Ron snarled. "'Father's always associated with the top people at the Ministry'… Dad could've got a promotion any time… he just likes it where he is…"

"Of course he does," said Hermione quietly.

"You should not let him get to you, Ron -" Asia said.

"Him! Get to me!? As if!" he said as he picked up one of the remaining Cauldron Cakes and squashed them into pulp, out of anger.

They sat quietly for a few more minutes before Dean, Seamus and Neville decided to leave and get back to their compartment. Ron kept quiet and stayed in a bad mood while Asia and Hermione quietly talked about the Summoning Cham. It was not that hard. Asia had been on the receiving end of the charm for the past six years anyway. It was not a big deal for her to learn it. She had already mastered halfway through Hermione's practice. It was after she was done mastering it, that she remembered something and began a conversation with Harry, who was trying to find something to do with himself when Ron was in a bad mood.

"Harry," she said making him turn to her expectantly, "have you heard from… from… Padfoot?"

The reaction was sudden: Ron snapped out of his anger and stared at her curiously; Hermione stopped her practicing; and Harry's face split into a small smile, clearly remembering their adventure last year.

"Yeah, I have," he replied, "He asks about you a lot."

"Really?" Asia smiled, "How is he? Any idea where he might be?"

"He's alright. At least better than before when he was where he came from," he shrugged, "But I have a vague idea that he might be somewhere in the South. The birds he uses to send his letters are… tropical looking, you could say."

"That must be good for him" she commented, "Are you expecting a letter from him, or maybe about to send him one…?"

She was uncertain that Harry would want to answer that. But to her surprise, he did.

"As a matter of fact," he said with a glance at Ron and Hermione, "I am expecting a letter from him. And I wanted to talk to you about what I wrote in it."

Asia looked at him curiously before glancing at Ron and Hermione as they exchanged a fleeting look. This heightened her curiosity and she turned back to Harry and nodded her head for him to continue.

"My scar hurt this summer at Privet Drive," he said so quickly, she almost missed it. But when she comprehended what he had said, her eyes widened and she suddenly remembered her dreams.

"What?" she whispered.

"I had a dream," he said slowly, examining her reaction, "It was about him, Voldemort," Hermione and Ron flinched, "and Pettigrew. It was a house beside some sort of graveyard –"

"Graveyard…?" Asia gulped, feeling the Cauldron Cakes making their way back up her oesophagus. She took a deep breathe, "Okay… continue, please…"

"They were planning on something," he continued while eyeing her suspiciously, "They were planning to kill…"

He did not need to continue. She knew who they were planning to kill. It was him. Harry was the only person Voldemort would want to kill now.

_Why did he have the dream? Does he have them like I do? Or was it only a one-time thing?_ She thought as Harry explained the entire dream to her.

"… So I sent Sirius a letter as soon as I woke up, explaining to him the entire dream. And now, I'm waiting for a reply. I told these two about it the day we came back from the World Cup. Any ideas what it could be… or what I should do…?"

"Why are you asking me?" she asked him amusedly.

"Well, you always have good advice," he replied as his cheeks tinged in pink.

"Well," she said, not wanting to make him uncomfortable, "It could either be just that; a dream. Or it could be what really is happening…"

Hermione took in a sharp breathe and Ron's eyes widened as she said that.

"Voldemort could not have been around in Privet Drive, right?" she ignored the flinches of Hermione and Ron, "And… do you remember Professor Trelawney's prediction, Harry?"

"Yeah," he replied, "That's what I said."

"You… you don't think he's… coming back… do you?" Ron asked, tentatively.

_Yes _"I would rather not say anything about it…" Asia sighed instead of saying it out loud, and turned to look out the window into the heavy rain, ending the conversation.

She did not think that he was coming back. She _knew_ that he was. She was sure that his plan was already in action and they were walking right into it. Someone needed to be informed. Someone…

"Tell Professor Dumbledore," she said so quietly, she was sure no one would have heard her if they were completely quiet.

"Sorry?" said Harry.

"Tell Professor Dumbledore," she repeated without looking at him, "He needs to know."

Nothing more was said. The rest of the journey went by with Asia staying quiet, thinking about what she had just found out. Ron's mood still had not changed since Draco left their compartment so he did not talk much after that. He did not talk even after they had changed into their school robes, and by the time the Hogwarts Express had stopped at Hogsmeade Station, he was still glaring at nothing and everything.

It was pitch dark outside, when they stepped off the train onto the platform, and thunder rumbled over their heads. Hermione bundled up Crookshanks in her cloak and Ron left his dress robes over Pigwidgeon's cage. The pain in her body had reduced considerably, but Asia was sure that by the time they would reach the Great Hall, her body would be hurting all over again. The rain was really heavy, and she also knew that she would have to take extra care of her wounds while changing later.

The rain felt as if buckets full of water were being thrown over their heads repeatedly. It was hard to see where they were going, as they had their eyes narrowed and their heads were bowed to avoid the rain hitting their faces.

"Hi, Hagrid!" Harry yelled, as he spotted a large silhouette standing at the far-end of the platform.

"All righ', Harry?" Hagrid bellowed back, waving. "See yeh at the feast if we don' drown!"

"Hey, Hagrid! I am here too, you know!" Asia shouted out to him. She liked teasing the giant, his reactions always amused her.

"I already saw yeh, Asia!" he replied before yelling for first-years to line-up before him as they had to sail across the lake with him.

Asia chuckled with Harry as Hermione said, "Oooh, I wouldn't fancy crossing the lake in this weather."

They all shivered as they slowly made their way along the dark platform with the rest of the crowd. A hundred horseless carriages stood waiting for them outside the station. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Asia, and Neville climbed gratefully into one of them. The door shut after them and a few moments later, the long convoy of carriages started making its way toward the Hogwarts Castle.


	12. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: The Tournament and the Teacher**

As their carriage moved, swaying in the wind, Asia watched through the window, the approaching Castle. The beautiful castle she had called her home ever since she stepped foot across these walls with her fellow first-years.

Hogwarts.

Her home.

She smiled and turned away, eager to get inside and faced Harry, who sat opposite her watching the approaching Hogwarts castle through the window behind him. He sensed Asia watching him, so he turned to look at as she smiled at him excitedly.

"What?" he said with a smile of his own.

"Nothing," she shrugged, "I am home, that is all."

A few minutes later, they were running up the stairs like all the other students, eager to get out of the heavy, pelting rain. They looked up only when they were safely under the torch-lit entrance hall. Asia glanced at the marble staircase and remembered her dream. Harry would ask the girl to be his date right over there. She felt her heart twist in pain, but ignored it when she heard Ron shout in fright.

She turned sharply with her wand pulled out, ready to attack, only to find that there was a some sort of red plastic sprawled over his head and he was spluttering, shaking water away from his eyes and ears. It took a few moments for her to realize what had happened. But when she did realize, another balloon had already been thrown at them. It missed Asia's head by an inch and burst next to Harry's feet. She turned back and found Peeves the Poltergeist floating about twenty feet above them concentrating on his next aim. People were screaming around them and pushed one another in order to get out of Peeves' next aim.

"PEEVES!" yelled an angry voice as Asia was pocketing her wand back, "Peeves, come down here at ONCE!" Professor McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress and head of Gryffindor House, had come dashing out of the Great Hall.

She was not watching the wet floor, as she skidded and grabbed Hermione around the neck to stop herself from falling.

"Ouch - sorry, Miss Granger -"

"That's all right, Professor!" Hermione gasped, massaging her throat, and glancing at Asia who was standing beside her, trying to stop her laughter.

She had not been here for more than three minutes and she was already having a good time.

"Peeves, get down here NOW!" Professor McGonagall barked, as she straightened her pointed hat and glared at the prankster through her square-rimmed glasses.

"Not doing nothing!" Peeves roared with laughter, while chucking another water bomb at several fifth-year girls, who screamed and ran into the Great Hall. "Already wet, aren't they? Little squirts! Wheeeeeeeeee!" And he aimed another bomb at a group of second years who had just arrived.

"I shall call the headmaster!" shouted Professor McGonagall. "I'm warning you, Peeves -"

Asia watched as he only stuck out his tongue at her before flinging his last bomb into the air and floated away laughing gleefully. She was busy chuckling at the Poltergeist to notice that the bomb was actually aimed at her and it was coming toward her in full speed. It was almost too late when she realised that the balloon was aimed straight at her ribs, where she was hurting the most, and her eyes widened in panic.

_Oh dear!_ She thought _I am dead…_

Whatever happened next was a matter of a few milliseconds, but seemed like it took minutes to happen.

"Anya!" she heard Harry's shout, before she saw him standing in front of her, with his back facing the balloon and his eyes shut as he waited for impact.

And impact came.

The bomb hit Harry so hard on his back that he stumbled into Asia, resulting in her tripping. She felt herself fall and she shut her eyes too, waiting for her back to hit the hard and wet floor. Suddenly she felt arms wrap around her waist and she was twisted around.

The pain she felt after that was almost unbearable.

She had fallen on something hard, but yet softer than the floor with an "Uff!" She heard a groan below her and a few screams around her. She still had her eyes closed tightly but when she felt the soft thing move, her eyes immediately opened to meet green orbs staring right back at her with concern.

Harry.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

She realized that she was lying on him, on the wet floor. He had caught her before she could fall and turned them around so that he could take the greater part of the deal. His face, she noticed, was contorted in pain and he still had his arms around her waist.

She nodded before slowly rolling over and lying on her back beside him. Her ribs were hurting once again, and she was sure she felt blood seeping through one of her reopened wounds on the right side of her back. She closed her eyes as she concentrated on breathing and trying to control her expression, that she was sure looked pained. She felt the wetness on the floor soak through her robes and wetting her back.

"Ms Malfoy," she heard Professor McGonagall call her from above her, "Are you alright?"

She opened her eyes slightly to see her standing over her, along with a huge crowd of students staring at her with curiosity. Hermione and Ron stood next to Professor McGonagall, worried for both her and Harry.

"Yeah," she whispered weakly, after struggling with evening out her breathing.

She felt Harry sit up beside her, "Can you stand?" he asked her.

"May… be…," she breathed out painfully.

"Let me help," he said before grabbing her arm and helping her up.

She slowly and painfully sat up and then glanced around the entrance hall to see so many students staring at her. She flushed in embarrassment and then heard Professor McGonagall shouting out to everyone.

"Well, move along, then!" she said sharply to the crowd, sensing her discomfort, "Into the Great Hall, come on! There is nothing to watch here!"

She sent her a grateful smile, but it immediately stopped when she heard Draco's voice.

"Nastya!" he shouted as he came rushing to her from within the Great Hall, "What happened to you? Are you alright? Get away from her, Potter! I know it was all your fault." He snapped at Harry before pushing him away and sitting next to Asia, trying to help her stand up.

_Keyword being 'trying',_ she thought as he pulled at her arm to get her to stand up.

"Ouch!" she shrieked, as her ribs hurt, due to Draco's pulling.

"Stop it, Malfoy!" Harry whisper-shouted at him, before gently pulling Asia's arm out of Draco's grip, "Are you blind?! She's hurting. Let go of her. She'll stand when she sees it fit, you idiot!"

"Language, Mr Potter," Professor McGonagall said sharply, before saying to Draco, "Mr Malfoy, your sister is in safe hands. You can go and settle down in the Great Hall."

Her order left no space for argument. So Draco reluctantly left after throwing a glare at Harry.

"Do you need to go to Madam Pomfrey, Asia?" asked Hermione from Asia's left.

Asia shook her head and said, "I will be fine. It is just the shock from the fall. Give me a minute. Professor, you can go if you want. You too, Ron, Hermione. Harry, I will be inside in a minute. Go."

"I'm not leaving you," Harry said, stubbornly.

Professor McGonagall shook her head and said, "I am going inside. I have to get the Hat and the first-years ready for the Sorting. You lot should be inside when I bring the first-years in." With that, she walked into the Great Hall.

Asia noticed the dishevelled condition the other three were in, all wet and flushed because of the cold. She noticed that she herself was as tousled as them; her hair had come undone from her already messy bun and she was completely wet and was sitting cross-legged in the wet and cold floor.

She did not know why, but she found the entire situation completely amusing. She chuckled at her thoughts. What she found even funnier was the weird looks she got from the trio that caused her to break out into a loud, delighted laughter. She ignored the pain in her body and laughed.

Apparently, her laughter was contagious, as she felt the trio join in with her and laugh out loud as well.

She laughed for the happiness of being away from her foster parents, she laughed at the incident that just occurred, she laughed at the way Harry had snapped at Draco when he had come to her acting like a protective brother.

She did not know how long they laughed for.

She felt elated and happy.

After what seemed like hours, but was merely a couple minutes, she stood up with Harry's help and they slipped and slid across the entrance hall to get to the Great Hall through the large oak doors.

They were still chuckling when they entered the Hall and made their way by the Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin tables toward the Gryffindor table. Harry was still holding on to Asia's arm, to avoid her from falling not only because of the pain, but also because of her continued laughter. She was highly aware of the stares they were getting, because they were the last students to enter before the first-years, and also because of how weird they looked laughing for no apparent reason.

The Great Hall looked its usual splendid self, decorated for the start-of-term feast. Golden plates and goblets gleamed by the light of hundreds and hundreds of candles, floating over the tables in mid-air. The four long House tables were packed with chattering students; at the top of the Hall, the staff sat along one side of a fifth table, facing their pupils. It was much warmer in here.

They sat down with the rest of the Gryffindors at the far side of the Hall, next to Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor ghost.

"Good evening," he said, beaming at them.

"Says who?" said Harry, taking off his sneakers and emptying them of water. "Hope they hurry up with the Sorting. I'm starving."

Asia smothered her laughter when she saw Ron squeezing his robes and transferring the dripping water into a goblet next to him.

"Seriously, Ron," Asia said, rolling her eyes as she used her wand to dry his robes using the hot-air charm. Hermione had already done so for herself, so she flicked her wand at Harry, and even he was dried instantaneously. He paused, surprised at the sudden dryness, with one of his sneakers upside down in mid-air and then smiled at Asia before pulling them on again. Asia did the same for herself before putting her wand back into her pocket.

Just then, a highly excited, breathless voice called down the table.

"Hiya, Harry!"

It was Colin Creevey, a third year to whom Harry was something of a hero. Asia glanced down the table, to find him staring at Harry excitedly, which she really cute, so she smiled and waved at him.

"Hi, Colin," said Harry warily, making her and Ron chuckle.

"Hi, Asia! Guess what? Guess what, Harry? My brother's starting! My brother Dennis!"

"Err - good," Harry replied.

"He's really excited!" said Colin, practically bouncing up and down in his seat. "I just hope he's in Gryffindor! Keep your fingers crossed, eh, Harry?"

"Err - yeah, all right," said Harry. He turned back to Hermione, Asia, Ron, and Nearly Headless Nick.

"Brothers and sisters usually go in the same Houses, don't they?" he asked.

"Oh no, not necessarily," said Hermione.

"Parvati Patil's twin is in Ravenclaw and they are identical. You would think they would be together, would you not?" Asia said.

Harry nodded and looked up at the staff table. Asia followed his example and noticed that there were more empty seats this year than usual.

Hagrid, of course, was still fighting his way across the lake with the first years; Professor McGonagall was presumably supervising the drying of the entrance hall floor, but there was another empty chair too. Asia presumed that the new Defence against the Dark Arts teacher had not yet arrived, which was strange in itself.

_Where is the new Defence against the Dark Arts teacher?_

"Where's the new Defence against the Dark Arts teacher?" Hermione voiced her thoughts.

Asia's favourite DADA teacher had been Professor Lupin, who had resigned last year, to all the students' disappointment. But the parents were delighted to hear that the werewolf was no longer teaching their kids. She looked up and down the table and found the regular teachers: Professor Flitwick, Professor Sprout, Professor Sinistra, Professor Snape, two empty seats for Professor McGonagall and Hagrid, and finally the Headmaster, Professor Dumbledore.

"Maybe they couldn't get anyone!" Hermione said anxiously.

"That seems highly unlikely, Hermione," Asia said to her as she stared at Professor Dumbledore.

The tips of his long and thin fingers were joined together, as his chin rested on them and he stared up at the ceiling. He was lost in thought. His half-moon spectacles reflected the floating candles above them. Asia always adored the old Headmaster. He had told her during the beginning of her first-year about how the fear of a name could increase the fear of the thing itself. She had said Lord Voldemort's name fearlessly ever since.

"Oh hurry up," Ron moaned, beside Harry, breaking Asia out of her reverie, "I could eat a hippogriff."

"Do not let Hagrid hear you say that, Ron," she joked.

She had just said the words when the doors to the Great Hall opened and Professor McGonagall led a long line of nervous and scared first years over to the staff-table. Everything went silent as they waited for the Sorting to begin.

The kids were soaked to the bone. It seemed as if they had swum across lake rather than sailed. They were shivering with cold and nerves as they lined along the staff table and stopped after facing the rest of the school. One of the kids was wrapped in what Asia recognized was Hagrid's overcoat. He was excited and looked delighted rather than nervous like the rest of his peers. She saw as he mouthed something to Colin that looked close to 'I fell in the lake!' as if it was something to be absolutely proud and thrilled about.

Professor McGonagall now placed a three-legged stool on the ground before the first years and, on top of it, an extremely old, dirty patched wizard's hat. The first years stared at it. So did everyone else. For a moment, there was silence. Then a long tear near the brim opened wide like a mouth, and the hat broke into song:

_A thousand years or more ago, _

_When I was newly sewn, _

_There lived four wizards of renown, _

_Whose names are still well known: _

_Bold Gryffindor, from wild moor, _

_Fair Ravenclaw, from glen, _

_Sweet Hufflepuff, from valley broad, _

_Shrewd Slytherin, from fin. _

_They shared a wish, a hope, a dream, _

_They hatched a daring plan _

_To educate young sorcerers _

_Thus Hogwarts School began. _

_Now each of these four founders _

_Formed their own house, for each _

_Did value different virtues _

_In the ones they had to teach. _

_By Gryffindor, the bravest were _

_Prized far beyond the rest; _

_For Ravenclaw, the cleverest _

_Would always be the best; _

_For Hufflepuff, hard workers were _

_Most worthy of admission; _

_And power-hungry Slytherin _

_Loved those of great ambition. _

_While still alive they did divide _

_Their favourites from the throng, _

_Yet how to pick the worthy ones _

_When they were dead and gone? _

'_Twas Gryffindor who found the way, _

_He whipped me off his head _

_The founders put some brains in me _

_So I could choose instead! _

_Now slip me snug about your ears, _

_I_'_ve never yet been wrong, _

_I_'_ll have a look inside your mind _

_And tell where you belong!_

The Great Hall rang with applause as the Sorting Hat finished.

"That's not the song it sang when it Sorted us," said Harry, clapping along with everyone else.

"It sings a different song every year," Asia said.

"Yeah, it's got to be a pretty boring life, hasn't it, being a hat?" Ron joked, "I suppose it spends all year making up the next one."

They watched as Professor McGonagall unrolled a long piece of parchment.

"When I call out your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool," she told the first years. "When the hat announces your House, you will go and sit at the appropriate table."

"Ackerley, Stewart!"

A boy walked up and sat on the stool, while he trembled.

"RAVENCLAW!" shouted the hat.

Stewart Ackerley took off the hat and hurried into a seat at the Ravenclaw table, where everyone was applauding him.

"Baddock, Malcolm!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Branstone, Eleanor!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Cauldwell, Owen!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Creevey, Dennis!"

Dennis walked forward with a flabbergasted look on his face and tripped over Hagrid's coat. Asia saw Hagrid walk in himself right at the moment. He winked at them before sitting down at the end of the staff table. Dennis Creevey sat on the stool and put on the Sorting Hat, and after a moment it yelled "GRYFFINDOR!" making beam widely and hurrying over to join his brother after placing the hat back on the stool.

Everyone clapped for him and the Sorting continued.

"Colin, I fell in!" he said shrilly, throwing himself into an empty seat beside his brother. Asia watched the two brothers with a smile, "It was brilliant! And something in the water grabbed me and pushed me back in the boat!"

"Cool!" said Colin, just as excitedly. "It was probably the giant squid, Dennis!"

"Wow!" said Dennis, enthusiastically.

"Dennis! Dennis! See that boy down there? The one with the black hair and glasses? See him? Know who he is, Dennis?"

She looked at Harry, as he pretended to be interested in the Sorting that continued before them. She smirked and shook her head and also turned to front, watching as the nervous first-years met their fate.

"Oh hurry up," Ron moaned, massaging his stomach, after a few slow minutes of Sorting passed.

"Now, Ron, the Sorting's much more important than food," said Nearly Headless Nick as he clapped for the students being Sorted.

"Course it is, if you're dead," snapped Ron.

"I do hope this year's batch of Gryffindors are up to scratch," said Nearly Headless Nick, still applauding as another student joined the Gryffindor table, "We don't want to break our winning streak, do we?"

Gryffindor had won the Inter-House Championship for the last three years in a row.

"Pritchard, Graham!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Quirke, Orla!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

And finally, with "Whitby, Kevin!" ("HUFFLEPUFF!"), the Sorting ended.

Professor McGonagall picked up the hat and the stool and carried them away.

"About time," Ron said as he seized his knife and fork and looked expectantly at his golden plate.

But Asia was more interested in what Professor Dumbledore had to say than in the forthcoming food. She looked ahead, as he stood up with his arms wide open in welcome and a big smile on his face.

"I have only two words to say to you," he said in his deep voice that echoed around the Hall, "Tuck in."

"Hear, hear!" said Harry and Ron loudly as the empty dishes filled magically before their eyes, making Asia laugh out loud. Before she touched the food, though, she glanced up once again at the staff table. She was surprised to see Professor Dumbledore staring back at her with an affectionate smile.

She smiled at him as he raised his goblet of what she guessed was Pumpkin Juice as a toast and drank from it. She had no idea what the toast was for but she followed him and raised her goblet and drank from it too before turning back to the table and filling her plate with some food.

Nearly Headless Nick watched mournfully as Harry, Ron, Asia, and Hermione loaded their plates.

"Aah, 'at's be'er," said Ron, with his mouth full of mashed potato.

"Ron, seriously," Asia said with a disgusted look on her face.

"You're lucky there's a feast at all tonight, you know," said Nearly Headless Nick. "There was trouble in the kitchens earlier."

"Why? Wha' 'appened?" Harry asked as he chewed on a piece of steak, to Asia and Hermione's disgust.

"Peeves, of course," Nick replied while shaking his head, "The usual argument, you know. He wanted to attend the feast - well, it's quite out of the question, you know what he's like, utterly uncivilized, can't see a plate of food without throwing it. We held a ghost's council - the Fat Friar was all for giving him the chance – but most wisely, in my opinion, the Bloody Baron put his foot down."

The Bloody Baron was the Slytherin ghost and was the only person at Hogwarts who could really control Peeves.

"Yeah, we thought Peeves seemed hacked off about something," said Ron darkly.

"So what did he do in the kitchens?" Asia asked before taking a bit of steak with her fork.

"Oh the usual," Nearly Headless Nick said, shrugging. "Wreaked havoc and mayhem. Pots and pans everywhere. Place swimming in soup. Terrified the house-elves out of their wits—"

There was a "Clang" and Asia looked beside her to see Hermione had knocked over her goblet of Pumpkin juice that now stained the white tablecloth orange. But Hermione paid no attention to the mess she had just created.

"There are house-elves here?" she said, staring at Nearly Headless Nick, horror-struck, "Here at Hogwarts?"

"Of course, there are," Asia said, surprised at her lack of this particular knowledge.

"The largest number in any dwelling in Britain, I believe. Over a hundred," Nearly Headless Nick said, seemingly as surprised over her reaction as Asia was at her sudden outburst.

"I've never seen one!" Hermione said.

"They hardly ever leave the kitchen by day," Asia responded, cautiously.

"They come out at night to do a bit of cleaning… see to the fires and so on… I mean, you're not supposed to see them, are you? That's the mark of a good house-elf, isn't it, that you don't know it's there?"

Hermione stared at them.

"But they get paid?" she asked suddenly, "They get holidays, don't they? And - and sick leave, and pensions, and everything?"

Nearly Headless Nick chortled so much that his ruff slipped and his head flopped off, dangling on the inch or so of ghostly skin and muscle that still attached it to his neck.

"Sick leave and pensions?" he said, pushing his head back onto his shoulders and securing it once more with his ruff. "House-elves don't want sick leave and pensions!"

Asia knew where this was going. She was highly aware of Hermione's opposition of the current elf rights and laws concerning house-elves. Hermione pushed away her plate and put her fork and spoon beside it refusing to eat anymore from the food the elves had prepared.

"Oh c'mon, 'Er-my-knee," said Ron, again with his mouth full, as he sprayed Harry with bits of Yorkshire pudding, "Oops — sorry, 'Arry —" He swallowed at last and said, "You won't get them sick leave by starving yourself!"

"Slave labour," said Hermione, breathing hard through her nose. "That's what made this dinner. Slave labour."

Asia simply shook her head and continued eating, knowing that any sort of argument would not get her to eat anything at the moment. It was not that Asia supported the wizarding laws that gave the house elves lesser right s than they deserved. But she knew that she could not do anything for them while she was still a student at Hogwarts. No wizards from the Ministry would ever listen to kids their age and the house-elves would protest against any new laws at the moment, due to the habits they had developed.

She silently ate as she thought of the different laws concerning magical beings other than wizards and witches. Another clap of thunder shook the windows, and lighted up the ceiling, before the golden plates were emptied of the remains of the main course and were replaced with puddings of every sort.

"Treacle tart, Hermione!" said Ron, deliberately wafting its smell toward her. "Spotted dick, look! Chocolate gateau!"

But Hermione gave him a look so reminiscent of Professor McGonagall that he gave up. Asia chuckled before she passed a dish of treacle tarts to Harry, knowing all too well how much he liked them. And then continued eating some chocolate pudding, which was her favourite.

After all the food had vanished, the last crumbs leaving the plates sparkling clean, Professor Dumbledore stood up once again. The entire Hall went silent almost instantaneously and only the whistling wind and the pelting rain could be heard.

"So!" said Professor Dumbledore, smiling around at them all. "Now that we are all fed and watered," ("Hmph!" said Hermione) "I must once more ask for your attention, while I give out a few notices.

"Mr Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to tell you that the list of objects forbidden inside the castle has this year been extended to include Screaming Yo-yos, Fanged Frisbees, and Ever-Bashing Boomerangs. The full list comprises some four hundred and thirty-seven items, I believe, and can be viewed in Mr Filch's office, if anybody would like to check it."

Professor Dumbledore's mouth twitched as an amused smile threatened to break over his face. He continued, "As ever, I would like to remind you all that the forest on the grounds is out-of-bounds to students, as is the village of Hogsmeade to all below third year.

"It is also my painful duty to inform you that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not take place this year."

"What?" Harry and Asia gasped. She looked at him in shock and stared ahead at Professor Dumbledore who was looking at them, this time he had an amused smile on his face as his eyes swept over the surprised and appalled faces before landing on Asia. He winked before continuing, "This is due to an event that will be starting in October, and continuing throughout the school year, taking up much of the teachers' time and energy - but I am sure you will all enjoy it immensely. I have great pleasure in announcing that this year at Hogwarts -"

He was interrupted with a sudden rumbling of thunder overhead and at the same moment the doors to the Great Hall opened. A man stood in the doorway, leaning upon a long staff, shrouded in a black traveling cloak. Every head in the Great Hall swivelled toward the stranger, suddenly brightly illuminated by a fork of lightning that flashed across the ceiling. He lowered his hood, shook out a long mane of grizzled, dark grey hair and then began to walk up toward the teachers' table.

A dull clunk echoed through the Hall on his every other step. He reached the end of the top table, turned right, and limped heavily toward Dumbledore. Another flash of lightning crossed the ceiling. Hermione gasped.

The lightning had thrown the man's face into sharp relief, and it was a face unlike any Asia had ever seen. It looked as though it had been carved out of weathered wood by someone who had only the vaguest idea of what human faces are supposed to look like, and was none too skilled with a chisel. Every inch of skin seemed to be scarred. The mouth looked like a diagonal gash, and a large chunk of the nose was missing. But it was the man's eyes that made him frightening.

One of them was small, dark, and beady. The other was large, round as a coin, and a vivid, electric blue. The blue eye was moving ceaselessly, without blinking, and was rolling up, down, and from side to side, quite independently of the normal eye - and then it rolled right over, pointing into the back of the man's head, so that all they could see was whiteness.

The stranger reached Dumbledore. He stretched out a hand that was as badly scarred as his face, and Dumbledore shook it, muttering words the students could not hear. He seemed to be making some inquiry of the stranger, who shook his head unsmilingly and replied in an undertone. Dumbledore nodded and gestured the man to the empty seat on his right-hand side.

The stranger sat down, shook his mane of dark grey hair out of his face, pulled a plate of sausages toward him, raised it to what was left of his nose, and sniffed it. He then took a small knife out of his pocket, speared a sausage on the end of it, and began to eat. His normal eye was fixed upon the sausages, but the blue eye was still darting restlessly around in its socket, taking in the Hall and the students.

"May I introduce our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher?" said Dumbledore brightly into the silence. "Professor Moody."

It was usual for new staff members to be greeted with applause, but none of the staff or students chapped except Dumbledore, Hagrid and Asia, who put their hands together and applauded, but the sound echoed dismally into the silence, and they stopped fairly quickly. Everyone else seemed too transfixed by Moody's bizarre appearance to do more than stare at him. Harry looked at her in surprise because she was the only one to clap out of all the students.

Asia just shrugged and looked back at Professor Moody whose blue eye was now fixed one her. She smiled slightly at him before turning to Harry who muttering something to Ron.

"Moody?" he said, "Mad-Eye Moody? The one your dad went to help this morning?"

"Must be," said Ron in a low, awed voice.

"What happened to him?" Hermione whispered. "What happened to his face?"

"Dunno," Ron whispered back, watching Moody with fascination.

Asia looked questioningly at Hermione and Harry, to which the former replied with a "Later."

Professor Moody seemed totally indifferent to his less-than-warm welcome. Asia watched with interest as he ignored the jug of pumpkin juice in front of him, and reached again into his traveling cloak, to pull out a hip flask, and took a long drink from it. As he lifted his arm to drink, his cloak was pulled a few inches from the ground, and Asia saw, below the table, several inches of carved wooden leg, ending in a clawed foot.

Dumbledore cleared his throat.

"As I was saying," he said, smiling at the sea of students before him, all of whom were still gazing transfixed at Mad-Eye Moody, "we are to have the honour of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event that has not been held for over a century. It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year."

"You're JOKING!" said Fred Weasley loudly.

His comment made the tension, created by Professor Moody's arrival disappear as everyone laughed at the sudden outburst. Even Professor Dumbledore chuckled appreciatively.

"I am not joking, Mr Weasley," he said, "though now that you mention it, I did hear an excellent one over the summer about a troll, a hag, and a leprechaun who all go into a bar."

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat loudly. And Asia laughed at Professor Dumbledore's expense.

"Err - but maybe this is not the time… no…" said Dumbledore while discreetly winking at Asia, "where was I? Ah yes, the Triwizard Tournament… well, some of you will not know what this tournament involves, so I hope those who do know will forgive me for giving a short explanation, and allow their attention to wander freely.

"The Triwizard Tournament was first established some seven hundred years ago as a friendly competition between the three largest European schools of wizardry: Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. A champion was selected to represent each school, and the three champions competed in three magical tasks. The schools took it in turns to host the tournament once every five years, and it was generally agreed to be a most excellent way of establishing ties between young witches and wizards of different nationalities - until, that is, the death toll mounted so high that the tournament was discontinued."

"Death toll?" Asia whispered feeling alarmed.

But her anxiety did not seem to be shared by either Harry or Ron. They seemed far more interested in hearing about the tournament than in worrying about the deaths. She turned to Hermione and was pleased to see that she was one of those in the Hall who were more concerned about the mortal peril than the thrill the Tournament brought.

She suddenly remembered her dreams.

_Champions…_

"There have been several attempts over the centuries to reinstate the tournament," Dumbledore continued, "none of which has been very successful. However, our own departments of International Magical Cooperation and Magical Games and Sports have decided the time is ripe for another attempt. We have worked hard over the summer to ensure that this time no champion will find himself or herself in mortal danger.

"The heads of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving with their short-listed contenders in October, and the selection of the three champions will take place at Halloween. An impartial judge will decide which students are most worthy to compete for the Triwizard Cup, the glory of their school, and a thousand Galleons personal prize money."

"I'm going for it!" Fred hissed down the table, his face lit with enthusiasm.

He was not the only person who seemed to be visualizing himself as the Hogwarts champion. Asia glanced around to see that at every House table, people either gazing attentively at Professor Dumbledore, or whispering excitedly to their neighbours. She risked a glance at Harry's face, sure that even he was thinking of taking part in the Tournament, and saw that he was already looking at her with an excited smile. She returned it with a small one of her own.

Then Professor Dumbledore spoke again, and the Hall quieted once more.

"Eager though I know all of you will be to bring the Triwizard Cup to Hogwarts," he said, "the heads of the participating schools, along with the Ministry of Magic, have agreed to impose an age restriction on contenders this year. Only students who are of age - that is to say, seventeen years or older - will be allowed to put forward their names for consideration. This" — Dumbledore raised his voice slightly, for several people had made noises of outrage at these words, and the Weasley twins were suddenly looking furious, but Asia sighed in relief - "is a measure we feel is necessary, given that the tournament tasks will still be difficult and dangerous, whatever precautions we take, and it is highly unlikely that students below sixth and seventh year will be able to cope with them. I will personally be ensuring that no underage student hoodwinks our impartial judge into making them Hogwarts champion." His light blue eyes twinkled as they blinked over Fred's and George's defiant faces. "I therefore beg you not to waste your time submitting yourself if you are under seventeen.

"The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving in October and remaining with us for the greater part of this year. I know that you will all extend every courtesy to our foreign guests while they are with us, and will give your whole-hearted support to the Hogwarts champion when he or she is selected. And now, it is late, and I know how important it is to you all to be alert and rested as you enter your lessons tomorrow morning. Bedtime! Chop chop!"

Dumbledore sat down again and turned to talk to Professor Moody. Asia made to stand up with the rest of the students to head over to their common rooms, and the scraping sound from her chair was drowned with that of hundreds of others'.

"They can't do that!" said George, as he glared at Professor Dumbledore, still standing next to the seat he was sitting at, "We're seventeen in April, why can't we have a shot?"

"They're not stopping me entering," Fred said stubbornly, as he and George scowled at the top table, "The champions'll get to do all sorts of stuff you'd never be allowed to do normally. And a thousand Galleons prize money!"

"Yeah," said Ron, a faraway look on his face. "Yeah, a thousand Galleons…"

Asia shook her head at the three Weasley brothers and started to walk over to the doors, forgetting for a moment that her legs would hurt if she walked too fast, and that her ribs were still sore. She was reminded of her aching body as soon as she had walked only a few feet from her chair. She instantly slowed down and quickly looked around to see if anyone had noticed her sudden halt. She sighed in relief to see no one had.

"Come on," she heard Hermione say to the boys, "we'll be the only ones left here if you don't move."

Harry, Ron, Asia, Hermione, Fred, and George set off for the entrance hall – Asia slower than the others – Fred and George debating the ways in which Professor Dumbledore might stop those who were under seventeen from entering the tournament.

"Who's this impartial judge who's going to decide who the champions are?" asked Harry.

"Dunno," replied Fred, "but it's them we'll have to fool. I reckon a couple of drops of Aging Potion might do it, George…"

"Dumbledore knows you're not of age, though," Ron pointed out.

"Yeah, but he's not the one who decides who the champion is, is he?" Fred said wisely, "Sounds to me like once this judge knows who wants to enter, he'll choose the best from each school and never mind how old they are. Dumbledore's trying to stop us giving our names."

"People have died, though!" Hermione said, worriedly as the group walked through a door hidden behind a tapestry and started up another, narrower staircase.

"Yeah," said Fred carelessly, "but that was years ago, wasn't it? Anyway, where's the fun without a bit of risk? Hey, Ron, what if we find out how to get 'round Dumbledore? Fancy entering?"

"What d'you reckon?" Ron asked Harry. "Be cool to enter, wouldn't it? But I s'pose they might want someone older… Dunno if we've learned enough…"

"I definitely haven't," came Neville's gloomy voice from behind Fred and George. "I expect my gran'd want me to try, though –"

"No," Asia snapped, stopping them from continuing the conversation, "None of you are entering, and that is final!"

With that she tried to speed up and walk past them, but her aching ribs made her wince and slow back down.

_Why are these stupid ribs hurting more than usual today?! They never hurt when I am at the Manor!_ She thought angrily.

Hermione walked up next to her and put an arm around her waist, careful not to hurt any of her wounds and bruises. She ignored the surprised looks on the faces of the Weasley boys, Harry and Neville and kept walking, while leaning on to Hermione.

"Are you sure you don't want to go to the Hospital Wing?" Hermione whispered to her.

"Yes, I am sure," she replied, "I need to sleep. I am sure I will be fine by tomorrow. They have never hurt like this before. I think it was because of the fall earlier in the entrance hall. I will be fine." She repeated.

"Oops…!"

They heard a yelp from behind them and they turned around. Neville's foot had sunk right through a step halfway up the staircase. It was second nature to most of the older students to jump this particular step, but Neville's memory was especially poor. Harry and Ron seized him under the armpits and pulled him out, while a suit of armour at the top of the stairs creaked and clanked, laughing wheezily.

"Shut it, you," Ron said, banging down its visor as they passed, making Asia chuckle slightly.

They made their way up to the entrance to Gryffindor Tower, silently, as they reached the portrait entrance.

"Password?" the Fat Lady said as they approached.

"Balderdash," said George, "a prefect downstairs told me."

The portrait swung forward to reveal a hole in the wall through which they all climbed. Hermione muttered "Slave labour" as she cast the dancing flames in the fire place a dark look. Asia glanced around the circular common room and saw all the squashy armchairs and tables that brought back the memories of her late night study sessions in the chair close to the window in the far corner next to the fireplace.

Hermione and Asia muttered a goodnight to the boys before they walked through the doorway that led to the girls' dormitory. Asia, Hermione and Ginny had shared a dormitory ever since second year. Before Ginny had joined them, the third bed had stayed empty.

When they reached their dormitory, Ginny was already getting comfortable in her bed, pulling the comforter over her. They exchanged a smile before Asia walked over to her trunk and pulled out her night dress.

_I have to get my stuff from the Room of Requirement…_ she thought as she changed slowly, to avoid any more episodes of severe pain.

Someone had placed warming pans between the sheets, making the bed ten times more comfortable than it already was. Her body sighed in relief as she laid down between the sheets and listened to the thunder raging outside. She could hear the soft snores of Ginny and Hermione's deep breathing as she waited for sleep to take her. Asia was expecting a peaceful sleep for the first time in weeks, and she was sure she would get it tonight. The bed was way more comfortable than her bed back at the Manor and she was dreading the day she would have to return to it.

_Forget that, Anastasia… You have… an amazing bed right…here…stop thinking…_

She found herself drifting when she heard Hermione whisper something to her.

"You don't think, the boys would really try to enter, do you?"

"Mm… I would kill them first, Mione… before they would get the chance to get themselves killed by dragons… and merpeople… and …and whatnot," Asia mumbled, already half asleep.

_I will die before letting Harry entering this madness…if that is what it would take…_ was the last thought she had before she completely drifted off to sleep.


	13. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: The Ferret**

The next morning, Asia woke up way earlier than Hermione or Ginny as she had to collect her things from the Room of Requirement. Checking the clock on her bedside table, she saw that she had an hour before any one she knew would wake up. So she pulled the comforter off her and grabbed the cloak that hung off the foot of her bed before climbing out and slipping on a pair of slippers.

She went into the bathroom and stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair had come lose from her bun and was sticking out in different directions. Her bruises and wounds no longer hurt and even her ribs were almost as good as new. She smiled happily at the thought while she rearranged her hair back into a messy bun.

She brushed her teeth, pulled on the cloak, and grabbed her wand from under her pillow before walking out of the dormitory to collect her things. She did not care what she looked like at the moment, she only wanted to grab her clothes before it was time to go down for breakfast.

Walking out the portrait hole, as quietly as she could, she rushed down the corridor that led to the Room of Requirement. She reached the tapestry that represented the attempt of Barnabas the Barmy to teach trolls ballet. She always found it amusing.

_Who tries to teach trolls ballet?_ She would always think at seeing it, with a chuckle.

She walked thrice up and down the corridor, beside the wall opposite the tapestry and thought, _I want to get my belongings back…the ones I hid before going away for the summer… I want my belongings back…_

She stopped short halfway through her third lap, when a door appeared on the wall. She smiled widely and opened it by turning the knob and pushing it into the wall.

She peered inside and found the familiar looking storage closet. It was the same every year; she thought the same thing and paced three times up and down the seventh floor corridor until the door appeared that opened to a tiny closet that stored her trunk and broom.

Picking up the broom from behind the door, Asia held the trunk from its handle tightly, before starting the short walk back to the dormitory.

It took her a little longer to get back to the common room than it took to get to the Room of Requirement because of the luggage she dragged with her this time. She said "Balderdash" to the Fat Lady quickly as the password and entered the common room, which was as empty as it was when she had left. She pulled the trunk with her, with difficulty, as she had to be extra careful with her wounds and bruises, up the staircase that led to the dormitory she shared with Hermione and Ginny and placed the trunk at the foot of her bed when she reached inside.

Another half hour later, Asia had taken a bath and had changed into her uniform robes. Her school bag was ready with a textbook for random reading during lunch and dinner, along with rolls of parchment, a couple of quills she had bought in Diagon Alley, and ink. She had decided to grab a cloak along with her because of the gloomy and cloudy weather outside.

She went back to the bathroom to take one last look in the mirror. Her black hair was tied up in a lose bun and she wore the locket Dobby had given her as a good luck charm for the first day of classes. Exiting the bathroom, she grabbed her bag and cloak before walking out of the dormitory, with a couple of minutes to spare before Hermione and Ginny woke up.

Asia rushed out of the common room, her bruises and wounds not paining at all, through the portrait hall and down the spiral staircase to the Great Hall for her usual early breakfast.

She sat down on the empty Gryffindor table, like the rest of the Hall, and pulled out her copy of One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi and started to read a random chapter, which turned out to be Bubotuber. She read while slowly loading her plate with the already prepared breakfast and eating at leisurely pace, aware that there was time before other students started to file in to start their day.

Half an hour later, Asia was halfway through her third chapter and was done with her breakfast. She looked up to see that the Hall was now almost full of students eating breakfast, and the staff table was also full. Professor McGonagall was giving out schedules to all the students around the Gryffindor table, when she noticed Harry, Ron and Hermione entering the Hall together. Asia returned to her textbook and was almost done when Professor McGonagall came up to her.

"Good morning, Ms Malfoy" she greeted, "How are you feeling now?"

"Good morning to you too, Professor," Asia replied, "And I feel much better, thank you. What about you, Professor? Peeves did not give you any more hard time than last night, did he?"

"Oh, I'm very well, thank you, Asia," she said with a very small smile on her usually stiff lips, "And no, Peeves has been well behaved so far this morning. Here is your schedule for the year. Good luck, Ms Malfoy."

Asia smiled at Professor McGonagall and watched as she walked away from her, to Harry, Hermione and the Weasley siblings to hand them their schedules. She read hers and saw that she had all her morning classes outside and Divination class in the North tower after lunch.

_Well, I was smart to carry a cloak_, she thought happily.

She finished reading the third and last chapter for the day that was about Shrivelfig and snapped the book shut, startling a couple second year students sitting beside her in the process.

She was about to get up when she heard the flutter of wings. Asia looked up and saw the usual start of the year mail being brought by owls. She looked behind and saw Draco and Annika receive the regular parcels of candies and sweets at the Slytherin table. They showed off their parcel to those sitting around them in loud drawling voices. Annika sat with her regular posse of fake friends, Pansy Parkinson being the best out of them, and Draco sat between his cronies, Crabbe and Goyle.

Asia ignored the arrogant smile Annika was sending her and turned back to her schedule. She glanced at Harry, he looked disappointed.

_Sirius' letter has not arrived yet…_ she thought to herself.

She looked down at her schedule to assess her routine for the rest of the year and was suddenly glad that there was no Inter-House Quidditch Cup this year. She would get more chances to go down to the pitch to try out the moves she had seen the players do at the World Cup. She had them recorded in her Omnioculars, and she was going to make good use of them.

She smiled and stuffed her book and schedule into her bag, grabbed her cloak, and rushed out of the Hall after waving at Ginny. She had to go to the common room to grab her dragon-hide gloves for Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures.

Her first class was Herbology with the fellow Hufflepuff students at the greenhouses, which was taught by Professor Sprout. She was the second person to reach the greenhouse, Neville being the first as usual. She grabbed a seat right next to Professor Sprout's table, beside him.

"Hey, Asia," Neville greeted her as she sat beside him.

"Hey, Neville," she smiled back.

A couple of minutes later, other students began to file in and took a seat with a chosen group or partner; Harry, Ron and Hermione sat together as usual.

When the entire class had settled down, they were introduced to what Asia immediately recognized as Bubotubers. She had read about them just half an hour ago and the information was still fresh in her mind. Even if they had good uses, they looked utterly hideous. They looked less like plants and more like thick, black, giant slugs, protruding vertically out of the soil. Each was squirming slightly and had a number of large, shiny swellings upon it, which appeared to be full of liquid.

"Bubotubers," Professor Sprout told them briskly. "They need squeezing. You will collect the pus -"

"The what?" said Seamus Finnigan, sounding revolted.

"Pus, Finnigan, pus," said Professor Sprout, "and it's extremely valuable, so don't waste it. You will collect the pus, I say, in these bottles. Wear your dragon-hide gloves; it can do funny things to the skin when undiluted, bubotuber pus."

They spent the entire hour squeezing the bubotubers for pus. It was disgusting but they had to do it, nevertheless. They caught it in the bottles as Professor Sprout had indicated, and by the end of the lesson had collected several pints.

"This'll keep Madam Pomfrey happy," said Professor Sprout, stoppering the last bottle with a cork. "An excellent remedy for the more stubborn forms of acne, bubotuber pus. Should stop students resorting to desperate measures to rid themselves of pimples."

"Like poor Eloise Midgen," said Hannah Abbott, a Hufflepuff, in a hushed voice. "She tried to curse hers off."

"Silly girl," said Professor Sprout, shaking her head. "But Madam Pomfrey fixed her nose back on in the end."

A bell echoed across the wet grounds from the castle, indicating the end of the first lesson. The class dispersed and the Gryffindors headed over to Hagrid's hut at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, for Care of Magical Creatures with the Slytherins.

_Oh no… Draco will be in this class!_ She thought, dejectedly.

When they reached the edge of the Forest, Hagrid was standing outside his hut with his black boarhound, Fang, whimpering and straining at his collar that was tightly held by Hagrid. Asia noticed that there were many open wooden crates next to Hagrid's feet that rattled quite strangely making it sound like there were tiny explosions going on in them.

"Mornin'!" Hagrid said while grinning at Asia, who was the first to reach him, and then to someone behind her. She followed his gaze and saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione smiling back at him, "Be'er wait fer the Slytherins, they won' want ter miss this - Blast-Ended Skrewts!"

"Come again?" Ron asked.

Hagrid pointed down into the crates.

"Eurgh!" squealed Lavender Brown, jumping backward after having a look at what was inside.

Asia stepped forward to see exactly what was so 'Eurgh!' about the contents of the crates. And she could not have described them any better. Lavender's description just about summed up the Blast-Ended Skrewts. They looked like deformed, shell-less lobsters, horribly pale and slimy-looking, with legs sticking out in very odd places and no visible heads. There were about a hundred of them in each crate, each about six inches long, crawling over one another, bumping blindly into the sides of the boxes. They were giving off a very powerful smell of rotting fish. Every now and then, sparks would fly out of the end of a skrewt, and with a small phut, it would be propelled forward several inches.

_The name suits them well,_ she thought.

"On'y jus' hatched," said Hagrid proudly, "so yeh'll be able ter raise 'em yerselves! Thought we'd make a bit of a project of it!"

"And why would we want to raise them?" Asia heard Draco's voice from a few feet behind her.

She turned around and saw that the Slytherins had arrived and Draco's two cronies, Crabbe and Goyle, were chortling at his not-so-amusing words.

Hagrid, however, looked perplexed at the question.

"I mean, what do they do?" Draco asked, "What is the point of them?"

Hagrid opened his mouth and closed it back like a fish, thinking hard at for a sensible answer. A few seconds passed, and he finally answered, "Tha's next lesson, Malfoy. Yer jus' feedin' 'em today. Now, yeh'll wan' ter try 'em on a few diff'rent things - I've never had 'em before, not sure what they'll go fer - I got ant eggs an' frog livers an' a bit o' grass snake - just try 'em out with a bit of each."

"First pus and now this," muttered Seamus.

If Asia did not like Hagrid as much as she did, she would have run for the hills. But she adored him and did not want to disappoint him so she picked up the frog liver, along with Harry, Ron and Hermione, and lowered them into the crates for the skrewts to devour. She tried her best to keep a blank face, so that Hagrid would think that she was enjoying it, but apparently she was not doing a good job of it, because when Harry glanced up at her while picking up another handful of liver, he burst out laughing, dropping the disgusting material back into the crate in the process.

She gave him her best blank look, but failed miserably and ended up laughing as well. Ron and Hermione, along with the rest of the class, gave them weird looks, apparently confused about what was so funny about the gross task. When they both were done laughing and were trying to get their breathing back to normal, Asia glanced at Hagrid and found him staring at the two of them with an odd expression on his face. Harry followed her haze and also stared back at him as he looked lost in thoughts.

Asia waved at him and said, "Are you there, Hagrid? You seem lost in thought?"

Hagrid snapped out of his reverie and just shook his head before saying, "Come on, yeh two. Get ter work."

And as much as she was grossed out at the feeling of the slimy liver in her hands, she still kept going to keep Hagrid satisfied. Harry followed her example, and they both resumed feeding the skrewts.

"Ouch!" yelled Dean Thomas after about ten minutes. "It got me."

Hagrid hurried over to him, looking anxious.

"Its end exploded!" said Dean angrily, showing Hagrid a burn on his hand.

"Ah, yeah, that can happen when they blast off," said Hagrid, nodding.

"Eurgh!" said Lavender gain. "Eurgh, Hagrid, what's that pointy thing on it?"

"Ah, some of 'em have got stings," said Hagrid enthusiastically as Lavender pulled her hand away from the box, "I reckon they're the males… The females've got sorta sucker things on their bellies… I think they might be ter suck blood."

"Well, I can certainly see why we're trying to keep them alive," Draco said sarcastically, "Who wouldn't want pets that can burn, sting, and bite all at once?"

He was getting on her nerves again and she wanted to shut him up so badly. But before she could say anything Hermione spoke up.

"Just because they're not very pretty, it doesn't mean they're not useful," she snapped at him.

Asia saw it an amazing chance to continue for her.

"Dragon blood is amazingly magical, but you would not want a dragon for a pet, would you, Draco?"

She said that despite knowing the fact that Hagrid would have liked nothing better than a pet dragon, as Harry, Ron, and Hermione knew too - he had owned one for a brief period during their first year, a vicious Norwegian Ridgeback by the name of Norbert. Hagrid simply loved monstrous creatures, the more lethal; the better.

They all started walking back to the castle for lunch as soon as the bell rang, after saying bye to Hagrid; this time, Asia walked beside Harry, Ron and Hermione.

"Well, at least the skrewts are small," said Ron.

"They are now," said Hermione in an exasperated voice, "but once Hagrid's found out what they eat, I expect they'll be six feet long."

"Well, that won't matter if they turn out to cure seasickness or something, will it?" said Ron, grinning slyly at her and Asia.

"You know perfectly well I only said that to shut Draco up," said Asia, "As a matter of fact I think he is right. The best thing to do would be to stamp on the lot of them before they start attacking us all."

They sat down at the Gryffindor table and helped themselves to lamb chops and potatoes. Hermione began to eat so fast that the other three stared at her.

"Err - is this the new stand on elf rights?" Ron asked, hesitantly, "You're going to make yourself puke instead?"

"No," Hermione answered, with her mouth full of sprouts. "I just want to get to the library."

"What?" said Ron in disbelief, "Hermione - it's the first day back! We haven't even got homework yet!"

Hermione shrugged and continued to shovel down her food as though she had not eaten for days.

"Don't tell me you're going to go too?" Ron asked Asia with exasperation.

"No, Ron," Asia answered him, while loading her plate with another helping of mashed potatoes, "We have Divination, remember? Question is, who will I sit with this year? Hermione has dropped out, I have no partner… Maybe I could sit with Parvati and Lavender…?"

"No, sit with us," Harry said, "I'm sure Trelawney wouldn't mind her subject having a second partner."

She nodded, just as Hermione leapt to her feet.

"See you at dinner!" she said to the three of them before practically running out of the Hall to the library.

The bell for the start of the third class of the day rang and the three of them headed for the North Tower for their Divination class.

They emerged from the stepladder, to be greeted by the sweet fragrance that signified Professor Trelawney's presence in the circular room. There were many lamps around the room that spread a dim, reddish light around, these lamps were covered with shawls and scarves and the curtains were also closed. Harry, Asia and Ron walked over to the same table Harry and Ron had occupied since last year and sat down.

"Good day," said the misty voice of Professor Trelawney right behind Harry, making him jump.

Asia and Ron silently laughed as they saw her staring at Harry with the same tragic expression she always wore when looking at him.

"You are preoccupied, my dear," she said mournfully to Harry. "My inner eye sees past your brave face to the troubled soul within. And I regret to say that your worries are not baseless. I see difficult times ahead for you, alas… most difficult… I fear the thing you dread will indeed come to pass… and perhaps sooner than you think…"

Her voice dropped almost to a whisper. Ron rolled his eyes, while Harry looked stonily back at him. Asia simply smiled at the exchange and turned to face the front where Professor Trelawney had seated herself in a large, winged armchair.

"My dears, it is time for us to consider the stars," she said. "The movements of the planets and the mysterious portents they reveal only to those who understand the steps of the celestial dance. Human destiny may be deciphered by the planetary rays, which intermingle…"

Asia was hearing what she was saying, but she was not listening. She had drifted off into her thoughts. She thought about the true prediction Professor Trelawney had made at the end of last year. She thought of all her dreams. All her efforts to ignore her thoughts and occupying herself in her classes had now caught up to her and she was thinking of all the possibilities the dreams could mean.

Professor Dumbledore had said yesterday that the impartial judge would choose a 'champion' from each school. Harry had said in her dream that the 'champions' had to open the first dance…

_Will he be one of the champions? But there were four couples who were entering the Great Hall…_

But, there were only three schools participating! And then there was the dragon. Was that one of the tasks?

_Harry said that Pettigrew was with Voldemort in his dream. Professor Trelawney had predicted last year that servant will reunite with master. She said Voldemort would return…_

Would it be this year? Would he return this year? And who was the faithful servant at Hogwarts…?

"Harry!" Ron's muttering snapped her out of her thoughts.

She looked around her.

"What?"

Harry too looked around; the whole class was staring at him. Apparently she was not the only one to be lost in thought.

"I was saying, my dear, that you were clearly born under the baleful influence of Saturn," Professor Trelawney said him, in an offensive tone.

"Born under - what, sorry?" he asked her, as confused as Asia.

"Saturn, dear, the planet Saturn!" said Professor Trelawney, sounding irritated, "I was saying that Saturn was surely in a position of power in the heavens at the moment of your birth… Your dark hair… your mean stature… tragic losses so young in life… I think I am right in saying, my dear, that you were born in midwinter?"

"No," said Harry, "I was born in July."

Ron hastily turned his laugh into a hacking cough, and Asia bit her lip to stop her lips from twisting into an amused smile.

Half an hour later, each of them had been given a complicated circular chart, and was attempting to fill in the position of the planets at their moment of birth. It was dull work, requiring much consultation of timetables and calculation of angles.

"I've got two Neptunes here," Harry said after a while, frowning down at his piece of parchment, "that can't be right, can it?"

"Aaaaah," said Ron, imitating Professor Trelawney, "when two Neptunes appear in the sky, it is a sure sign that a midget in glasses is being born, Harry…"

Asia laughed quietly and Seamus and Dean, who were working nearby, sniggered loudly too.

As they walked down the spiral staircase to dinner, Ron complained about the large amount of homework they had received for Divination. Asia thought that the main reason for Professor Trelawney to give them so much homework was because she had heard Ron make a comment to Lavender which made her mad.

"Miserable old bat," Ron said, bitterly as they joined the crowd heading down to dinner, "That'll take all weekend that will…"

"Lots of homework?" said Hermione brightly, catching up with them. "Professor Vector didn't give us any at all!"

"Well, bully for Professor Vector," said Ron moodily.

They had just reached the entrance hall when a familiar phoenix made its way through the Great Hall and landed right in front of Asia who had paused to let a few first years pass to the front. The few people who stood beside her screamed surprise at the phoenix's sudden arrival, but kept moving. Asia smiled at Fawkes and untied the familiar black pouch and a letter from its foot, before it gave her fingers an affectionate nibble and flew away. She looked around her and saw that the Harry, Ron and Hermione had already reached the end of the queue for dinner. She walked faster and caught up with them while reading Professor Dumbledore's letter:

_Dear Anastasia,_

_I hope your summer went well._

_The pouch contains a couple or more hundred Galleons and a few Sickles and Knuts. You will need the money this year more than any of your last three. If you ever need more, send me a letter or come talk to me about it._

_I know you will have an exciting year and will also find it in yourself to prevent your friends from doing something we both know they will regret later, if you know what I mean._

_Have a good day and the rest of the year, Asia._

_Signed,_

_One of your many well-wishers_

Asia smiled opening the pouch and peered inside to see many gold, silver and bronze coins. She had just reached Harry, Ron and Hermione when someone from beside her snatched the letter and pouch from her hands, making her turn sharply to get them back.

It was Annika and Pansy Parkinson. They both were staring at her with wide, malicious grins as they opened the pouch and the letter, respectively.

Asia sighed internally, _Here we go…_

"What do you want, Annika?" she asked them, "Give that back."

"I don't think so, Nastya," she said, with a sickly sweet smile, "Care to answer what this is?"

"No," she said shortly before completely turning herself around, "Now, give it back."

"Tsk… selling yourself now are you?" she said reading the letter Pansy had handed her.

She opened the pouch and saw the money in it, her face going from taunting, too greedy in a second. Asia felt someone come up on her either side. She did not have to look to know that it was Harry and Ron, and Hermione would be somewhere beside them.

"Who is this "well-wisher", Nastya? The one who gives you money and sends you letters in code words? Father would love to know what you have started not even a day after they let you on your own…"

Asia's blood ran cold. She did not want Father to find out about the money she got from this person every year. She did not mind Annika accusing her for something she had not done, she was used to it. But informing Father would be equal to putting her in mortal peril. She did not want Father knowing about the money. It was one of her many secrets that she had hidden from her foster parents and many others around her. Her terror must be visible on her face as both the girls laughed at her, more like cackled in glee.

"It would do you good if you left her alone, Annika," Harry said threateningly from her right side.

"What is it to you if I have a chat with my _lovely_ older sister?" she sneered at him.

"Give her the pouch and letter back, Malfoy," Ron snarled from her other side.

How he knew that they had snatched a letter and pouch from her, was neither something she knew nor she cared. She was highly aware of the crowd they had attracted the attention of, as they all stopped and stared at the six of them.

Annika rolled her pale blue eyes at Ron and turned to Pansy to sarcastically say, "I think I heard a weasel, Pansy. Did you?"

Ron was halfway to pulling out his wand when they heard a loud voice call from behind Annika and Pansy.

"Weasley! Hey, Weasley!"

Annika and Pansy turned around, curiously, and Harry, Ron, Asia, and Hermione looked up and saw Draco, Crabbe and Goyle swaggering towards them with a smile that said that they were thoroughly pleased about something.

"What?" Ron said shortly, annoyed that he now had to deal with two Malfoys altogether, "As if one wasn't enough," she heard him mutter lowly for only the four of them to hear.

"Your dad's in the paper, Weasley!" Draco shouted so that the entire Hall could hear, while waving a copy of the _Daily Prophet_, "Listen to this!"

_FURTHER MISTAKES AT THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC _

_It seems as though the Ministry of Magic's troubles are not yet at an end, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. Recently under fire for its poor crowd control at the Quidditch World Cup, and still unable to account for the disappearance of one of its witches, the Ministry was plunged into fresh embarrassment yesterday by the antics of Arnold Weasley, of the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office."_

Draco looked up and smirked a bit before Annika spoke.

"Imagine them not even getting his name right, Weasel. It's almost as though he's a complete nonentity, isn't it?" she said, louder than Draco.

Asia was sure that the entire hall was listening in, and including the ones standing close to the doors of the Great Hall.

Draco straightened the paper with a flourish and read on:

_Arnold Weasley, who was charged with possession of a flying car two years ago, was yesterday involved in a tussle with several Muggle law-keepers ("policemen") over a number of highly aggressive dustbins. Mr Weasley appears to have rushed to the aid of "Mad-Eye" Moody, the aged ex-Auror who retired from the Ministry when no longer able to tell the difference between a handshake and attempted murder. Unsurprisingly, Mr Weasley found, upon arrival at Mr Moody's heavily guarded house, that Mr Moody had once again raised a false alarm. Mr Weasley was forced to modify several memories before he could escape from the policemen, but refused to answer Daily Prophet questions about why he had involved the Ministry in such an undignified and potentially embarrassing scene._

"And there's a picture, Weasley!" Draco cried as he flipped the paper over and held it up for Ron to see, "A picture of your parents outside their house - if you can call it a house! Your mother could do with losing a bit of weight, couldn't she?"

Ron was shaking with fury.

"That is enough, Draco," Asia said calmly, anger evident in her tone, "No one asked your opinion over anything."

She never liked it when any of the Malfoys insulted the Weasleys. That family was the one who gave her the familial affection she had craved for ever since a kid.

"Oh come on, dear sister," he mocked her, "You really are going to stand up for _this_, against your own brother?" he exclaimed while pointing at Mr and Mrs Weasley's picture on the newspaper.

"Get stuffed, Malfoy," said Harry.

"Oh yeah, you were staying with them this summer, weren't you, Potter?" Draco sneered at him, "So tell me, is his mother really that porky, or is it just the picture?"

"You know your mother, Malfoy?" Harry said, as Asia and Hermione grabbed Ron's robes to stop him from jumping at Draco "that expression she's got, like she's got dung under her nose? Has she always looked like that, or was it just because you were with her?"

Malfoy's pale face went slightly pink.

"Don't you dare insult my mother, Potter."

"Keep your fat mouth shut, then,_ dear brother_," Asia said mockingly, then turned to Annika who was already staring at her with resentment and anger, "I would like my things back -"

BANG!

She heard several people scream as something white-hot passed her right cheek, she was sure even Harry had felt it as he suddenly jerked his head away. She reached for her wand in her pocket, but apparently she was too slow for a certain someone. She heard another BANG and a voice bellowed from the marble staircase, Draco and his posse had walked down of.

"OH NO YOU DON'T, LADDIE!"

Harry, Ron, Asia, Hermione, Annika, and Pansy snapped their heads to see Professor Moody limping down the staircase. His wand was out and he was pointing it at a white ferret that shivered on the floor. She stared at it with narrowed eyes.

_Draco was standing there just now, was he not…?_ She thought confusedly.

Everything had gone silent, as everyone was terrified about what might happen next. None of them moved a muscle, except Professor Moody, who turned to look at Harry and then Asia. Well, at least his normal eye looked at them; the other blue eye was turned around; apparently looking into it the back of his head.

"Did he get you?" he asked them in a rough and raspy voice.

"No," Harry answered as he glanced at Asia to check for injuries, "missed."

"LEAVE IT!" Professor Moody shouted.

"Leave - what?" Asia asked bewildered.

"Not you - him!" he growled while jerking his thumb over his shoulder at Crabbe, who had just frozen, about to pick up the white ferret.

_He can see out the back of his head! That eye is magical…_ she thought, surprised.

He started to limp toward Crabbe, Goyle, and the ferret, which gave a terrified squeak and took off, streaking toward the dungeons.

"I don't think so!" Professor Moody roared, as he pointed his wand at the ferret once again and levitated it about ten feet in the air before letting it fall with a smack and bounce upward.

"I don't like people who attack when their opponent's back's turned," growled Professor Moody still pointing his wand at the ferret and making it painfully bounce higher and higher, as it squealed, "Stinking, cowardly, scummy thing to do…"

The ferret flew through the air, its legs and tail flailing helplessly.

"Never - do - that - again -" said Moody, speaking each word as the ferret hit the stone floor and bounced upward again.

"Professor Moody!" Asia heard a shocked voice say.

Professor McGonagall was coming down the marble staircase with her arms full of books.

"Hello, Professor McGonagall," he said calmly, as if they did this every day, with the ferret still bouncing.

"What - what are you doing?" Professor McGonagall asked as her eyes followed the bouncing ferret.

"Teaching," Professor Moody answered.

"Teach - Moody, is that a student?" Professor McGonagall shrieked letting the books fall out of her arms.

"Yep," Professor Moody answered simply.

_Student…?_

"No!" she cried, as she ran down the rest of the stairs and pulled out her wand, instantaneously transferring the ferret back to a student with a 'snap'. Draco Malfoy had reappeared with his face a bright pink and his platinum blonde hair all over it. He got to his feet wincing, from his previous position of lying in a heap on the floor.

Asia pursed her lips to stop the smile from breaking over her face.

"Moody, we never use Transfiguration as a punishment!" Professor McGonagall said weakly, "Surely Professor Dumbledore told you that?"

"He might've mentioned it, yeah," Professor Moody replied, scratching his chin as if nothing wrong had happened, "but I thought a good sharp shock -"

"We give detentions, Moody! Or speak to the offender's Head of House!"

"I'll do that, then," he said, all the while staring at Draco with utter dislike, before turning to Annika who stood a few feet away, staring at him in fright, "And if I were you, I would give Ms Asia, here, her stuff back."

Annika bristled for a moment before snatching the letter from Pansy's hand and walking over to Asia, who stood beside Harry and Ron. She handed her the pouch and the letter and went back to her previous place before giving her a threatening glare.

_Oh dear…_ she thought, _I am definitely dead now._

Draco muttered something that sounded something like, "my father will hear about this" as his eyes still watered with pain and humiliation, while staring spitefully at Professor Moody.

"Oh yeah?" said Moody quietly, limping forward a few steps, the dull clunk of his wooden leg echoing around the hall. "Well, I know your father of old, boy… You tell him Moody's keeping a close eye on his son… you tell him that from me… Now, your Head of House'll be Snape, will it?"

"Yes," said Malfoy grudgingly.

"Another old friend," growled Moody. "I've been looking forward to a chat with old Snape… Come on, you…"

With that, Professor Moody grabbed Draco's upper arm and dragged him off to the dungeons, while Professor McGonagall stared at them anxiously, before waving her wand at the fallen books that flew up and landed back into her arms.

The crowd was broken out of the trance when she glared at all of them once, making them resume their walk into the Great Hall for dinner. Asia stuffed the pouch and letter in her bag before following Harry, Ron and Hermione to the Hall too.

"Don't talk to me," Ron said quietly to them as they sat down at the Gryffindor table a few minutes later, surrounded by excited talk on all sides about what had just happened.

"Why not?" Hermione asked in surprise.

"Because I want to fix that in my memory forever," he replied as he closed his eyes with an elated expression on his face, "Draco Malfoy, the amazing bouncing ferret."

Harry, Asia and Hermione laughed, and Hermione began loading all their plates with beef casserole.

"He could have really hurt Malfoy, though," she said. "It was good, really, that Professor McGonagall stopped it -"

"Hermione!" said Ron furiously, his eyes snapping open again.

"You are basically ruining the best moment of his life, Hermione," Asia said jokingly.

"She is as a matter of fact," Ron said.

Hermione made an impatient noise and began to eat at top speed again.

"Don't tell me you're going back to the library this evening?" said Harry, watching her.

"Got to," said Hermione thickly. "Loads to do."

"But you told us Professor Vector -"

"It's not schoolwork," she said.

"Oh, and Harry," Asia said suddenly, after swallowing a bite of the casserole, "It has always been like that."

"What has?" he asked utterly baffled as he could not get what she was trying to say.

"Mother's face," she shrugged, "It does not matter if Draco is around or not."

Ron burst out laughing, spraying the Pumpkin juice he had been taking a sip of, all over Hermione. She had been laughing too, but stopped to stare at Ron horrified and disgusted. If Harry was not laughing before, he definitely was now. In fact, she noticed, more than half of the Gryffindor table was laughing at what she had said.

Asia bit her lip really hard to avoid laughing out loud, as Hermione glared at the still-laughing Ron and used her wand to clean herself up.

Five minutes later, everyone had relaxed and had gone back to eating their dinner, including Harry, Asia, Ron, and Hermione. Another five minutes later, Hermione had had cleared her plate and was about to stand up to leave when Asia stopped her.

"Do you mind waiting for me a minute, Hermione?" she asked her, "I want to get started on the Divination homework tonight…"

"Of course," she said before seating herself back and helping herself to some treacle tarts.

After a few more minutes, Asia was done dinner and she and Hermione left the Hall after saying goodbye to Harry and Ron. Asia was sure she could finish almost half of her Divination homework tonight. She wanted her weekend to be free so that she could spend most of her time at the Quidditch pitch, even with homework she was sure they would get for other classes.

She had completed more than half of her Divination homework before leaving the library for the night. Hermione had left almost an hour earlier than her, but Asia was still not aware what she had been working on if it was not homework.

There was something else she had not noticed before and the thought had suddenly struck her as she got ready for bed that night.

_No one asked me about where the money had come from…_ with that as the final thought, she drifted off to dream world.


	14. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: The Curse**

The next couple days passed with Asia getting readjusted to her old routine. She woke up earlier than anyone from her dormitory, and had a long breakfast while reading a book or doing her homework. She would go to classes, take notes or practice, have lunch them dinner, and spend most of her time in the library or the common room to study. It was uneventful and also boring to some extent, but it was way better than the time she spent at the Malfoy Manor. She even thought about Dobby a few times, and wondered where he might be at the moment and all. He had said that he wanted to visit Winky. But she was supposed to be freed by now, was she not?

But she did not get much chance to dwell over that as she already had a lot going on in her head. Her dreams had become more deadly than ever. She kept dreaming about Harry's duel with Voldemort and also about Voldemort emerging from a cauldron with his full body and a face that looked close to that of a snake. She had also dreamt about Harry talking to Victor Krum. But she was not sure that it was one of the prophetic dreams or just a creation of her imagination.

She had barely talked to anyone during this time. Harry, Ron and Hermione were together like usual and she was alone as usual. She did not even get the chance to talk to Ginny. They both were too busy with classes and homework to give each other time of the day.

During Potions, she noticed Professor Snape's mood fouler than before and he spent more time deducting points from Gryffindor's than teaching them how to do things right. He had become even more malevolent and had barely looked with anything less than a glare at any of the Gryffindors in his class.

Asia was sure it was because of Professor Moody being appointed as the new Defence against the Dark Arts teacher, as he had wanted that post since long ago. Moreover, she even noticed Professor Snape trying to avoid Professor Moody at every possible turn.

_I wonder why…_

On Thursday, after lunchtime, she made her way to Professor Moody's classroom, for the first Defence against the Dark Arts lesson. Upon reaching, she saw that all the Gryffindor fourth years, except her and Hermione, had already queued up outside the door, too excited to wait for lunch to be over. Hermione came in right behind her and they joined Harry and Ron in the line.

"Been in the -"

"- Library," Harry finished Hermione's sentence for her, "C'mon, quick, or we won't get decent seats."

Harry led them inside the class and they made their way right to the four chairs in front of the teacher's desk. They took out their copies of The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection, and waited. The class was unusually quiet which made Asia stare around at everyone amusedly.

A few moments later, they heard Professor Moody's clunking footsteps approaching the classroom from down the corridor. He entered the room looking as frightening as ever, but Asia smiled at him as his magical eye swivelled over to where she sat with Harry, Ron and Hermione right in front of him as he reached his desk. He looked a little surprised but he gave a small smile back, nevertheless.

_Never judge a book by its cover_; she thought to herself, _you learned it the hard way, remember this always…_

"You can put those away," he growled, as he sat down, "those books. You won't need them."

_His voice is naturally rough, _she mused._ He had spoken the same way when he yelled at Draco the other day._

They did as he said and put their books back into their bags before looking at him expectantly. Asia could practically feel Ron quivering with excitement, from where he sat between Harry and Hermione. She had decided to sit on the other end of the table, beside Harry.

They saw as Professor Moody took out his register and called out names to take the attendance; his normal eye on the register, while the magical eye kept moving around the classroom, watching each student announcing their presence.

"Right then," he said, after he was done roll calling, "I've had a letter from Professor Lupin about this class. Seems you've had a pretty thorough grounding in tackling Dark creatures - you've covered boggarts, Red Caps, hinkypunks, grindylows, Kappas, and werewolves, is that right?"

The class murmured their assent.

"But you're behind - very behind - on dealing with curses," Professor Moody said, "So I'm here to bring you up to scratch on what wizards can do to each other. I've got one year to teach you how to deal with Dark -"

"What, aren't you staying?" Ron blurted out.

Professor Moody's magical eye spun and landed on Ron, making him fidget uneasily in his seat. Then to everyone's surprise, Professor Moody smiled. A genuine smile, that made his scarred face more twisted, but it was a smile, nevertheless.

"You'll be Arthur Weasley's son, eh?" Professor Moody asked him, "Your father got me out of a very tight corner a few days ago… Yeah, I'm staying just the one year. Special favour to Dumbledore… One year, and then back to my quiet retirement."

He gave a loud chuckle before clapping his hands together.

"So - straight into it. Curses. They come in many strengths and forms. Now, according to the Ministry of Magic, I'm supposed to teach you counter curses and leave it at that. I'm not supposed to show you what illegal Dark curses look like until you're in the sixth year. You're not supposed to be old enough to deal with it till then. But Professor Dumbledore's got a higher opinion of your nerves, he reckons you can cope, and I say, the sooner you know what you're up against, the better. How are you supposed to defend yourself against something you've never seen? A wizard who's about to put an illegal curse on you isn't going to tell you what he's about to do. He's not going to do it nice and polite to your face. You need to be prepared. You need to be alert and watchful. You need to put that away, Miss Brown, when I'm talking."

Asia turned around to see that Lavender was showing Parvati her completed horoscope under the desk. His magical eye could also see through wood, in addition to out of the back of his head too.

Asia shook her head in amazement before looking back up at him.

"So… do any of you know which curses are most heavily punished by wizarding law?"

Several hands were raised, including Asia, Ron, and Hermione. But Professor Moody nodded at Ron to answer.

"Err," Ron said uncertainly, "my dad told me about one… Is it called the Imperius Curse, or something?"

"Ah, yes," Professor Moody said approvingly. "Your father would know that one. Gave the Ministry a lot of trouble at one time, the Imperius Curse."

Asia watched curiously along with the rest of the class as he stood up, opened his desk drawer and took out a glass jar. In the jar were three black spiders. Asia glanced at Ron from the corner of her eyes, knowing about his fear of spiders, as Professor Moody caught one of the spiders from inside the jar and held it in the palm of his hand for everyone to see.

He pointed his wand at it and muttered, "Imperio!"

Asia gasped as she saw the spider leap from his hand on a silk thread and swing back and forth like a swing. It stretched out its legs rigidly, and then did a back flip, breaking the thread and landing on the desk, where it began to cartwheel in circles. Professor Moody jerked his wand, and the spider rose onto two of its hind legs and went into what was unmistakably a tap dance.

Asia stared at the spider, completely horrified at what Professor Moody was doing. He was showing a fourth year class an Unforgivable curse. She could hear the class laughing, including Harry, Ron and Hermione. But it was not remotely funny; this curse had caused too much trouble years ago and had helped Father to stay out of Azkaban.

"Think it's funny, do you?" Professor Moody growled, "You'd like it, would you, if I did it to you?"

That was all it took for the laughter to die away.

"Total control," he said quietly as the spider balled itself up and began to roll over and over, "I could make it jump out of the window, drown itself, or throw itself down one of your throats… Years back, there were a lot of witches and wizards being controlled by the Imperius Curse," he said, "Some job for the Ministry, trying to sort out who was being forced to act, and who was acting of their own free will. The Imperius Curse can be fought, and I'll be teaching you how, but it takes real strength of character, and not everyone's got it. Better avoid being hit with it if you can. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" he suddenly shouted making everyone jump and Asia to slightly flinch.

She was lucky Harry was too engrossed in the lesson to pay attention to her. Then Professor Moody picked up the somersaulting spider and threw it back into the jar.

"Anyone else know one? Another illegal curse?"

A few hands flew up, including Hermione, and also Neville. Asia knew too, but she was busy clutching robes out of apprehension. She knew what was coming and she did not like it one bit. She had dreamt about this last summer.

He was going to torture the spider…

"Yes?" Professor Moody said as his magical eye rolled right over to Neville.

"There's one - the Cruciatus Curse," said Neville in a small but distinct voice.

"Your name's Longbottom?" he said, as he intently stared at Neville.

Neville nodded nervously and Professor Moody reached into the jar for the next spider and placed it on the desk as he turned back to staring at the rest of the class. The spider remained motionless. It reminded Asia so much of herself when Father is about to use the torture on her. She stared limply at the poor creature.

"The Cruciatus Curse," Professor Moody continued, "Needs to be a bit bigger for you to get the idea," he said, pointing his wand at the spider. "Engorgio!"

The spider grew in size and was now a large tarantula, making Asia flinch again. She heard Ron pushing his chair backward, away from the spider. Too engrossed in clenching and unclenching her fists and jaw while staring at the tarantula, she failed to notice that both, Professor Moody and Harry had noticed her flinching and tense posture.

Keeping his magical eye on her, he raised his wand at the spider and muttered, "Crucio!"

The spell was the one she had heard almost every day shouted at her during her time at the Malfoy Manor. She shuddered slightly, but kept her eyes at the now squirming spider.

It was twitching horribly and rocking from side to side. It made no sound whatsoever, but she could hear screams. Her own screams. In her head. She could hear the screams that were produced from her throat when she was on the receiving end of the curse.

_Is this what I look like when Father and Mother torture me? Do they enjoy watching me while I twitch and squirm and shudder and jerk and –_

"Stop it!" Hermione shouted in a shrill voice from beside Ron.

Asia snapped out of her trauma and suddenly noticed pain in her palm. She looked down and saw that because of clenching her hands too tightly, her nails had pierced through the delicate skin of her palm and blood was seeping through the cuts they had made. She looked up and saw that everyone was staring at Neville, whose hands were also clenched on the desk in front of him, his knuckles were white and his eyes were wide with horror.

She was not the only one affected by the torturing.

"Reducio," she heard Professor Moody mutter.

She turned back to face the front and saw that the spider had shrunk back to its proper size. He put it back into the jar.

"Pain," he said softly, "You don't need thumbscrews or knives to torture someone if you can perform the Cruciatus Curse… Some of us know very well from observation. And some…" he said while turning to look at Asia. Both his eyes stared straight into hers as he continued, "some from first-hand experience…"

She could feel the stares of the entire class on her. One pair of green eyes, especially, as they bored into the side of her face. But she dare not look away from Professor Moody's, who had turned back to the rest of the class.

"That one was very popular once too," he continued, "Right… anyone know any others?"

Asia did not need to watch to know what would happen to the last spider, so she just stared down at her bleeding palms while shaking her head. She knew Hermione would be the one to answer the question.

"Yes?" she heard Professor Moody say.

"Avada Kedavra," Hermione whispered.

Asia took in a deep breathe.

_Harry will find out… He does not know exactly how his parents died, yet. I hope I do not have to see his face when he does…_

"Ah," Professor Moody said, "Yes, the last and worst. Avada Kedavra… the Killing Curse."

The silence for the next few moments sent a shiver of premonition up her spine. She knew that during the silence, Professor Moody had removed the third and last unfortunate spider from the jar and had placed it on the desktop.

"Avada Kedavra!" Professor Moody suddenly roared, making her jump in surprise and terror and snapping her head up.

She saw a flash of blinding green light and a whoosh sound, as if something invisible had soared through the air. The very next second, she saw the spider, rolled over, untouched, but unambiguously, dead. The spider had skidded toward their table, causing Ron to almost topple off his chair as he pushed himself further away from the desk. Professor Moody slid the spider off the desk onto the floor; Asia followed it to the ground with her eyes.

"Not nice," he said, completely calm, "Not pleasant. And there's no counter-curse. There's no blocking it. Only one known person has ever survived it, and he's sitting right in front of me."

Asia knew very well that everyone had turned to watch Harry now. And she also knew what Harry might be thinking at the moment. He was thinking of his parents. He had just found out how his parents were killed.

_Were my parents also killed this way…_ she wondered, but snapped out of it when Professor spoke again.

"Avada Kedavra's a curse that needs a powerful bit of magic behind it - you could all get your wands out now and point them at me and say the words, and I doubt I'd get so much as a nosebleed. But that doesn't matter. I'm not here to teach you how to do it. Now, if there's no counter curse, why am I showing you? Because you've got to know. You've got to appreciate what the worst is. You don't want to find yourself in a situation where you're facing it. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" he roared, and the whole class jumped again.

"Now… those three curses - Avada Kedavra, Imperius, and Cruciatus - are known as the Unforgivable Curses. The use of any one of them on a fellow human being is enough to earn a life sentence in Azkaban. That's what you're up against. That's what I've got to teach you to fight. You need preparing. You need arming. But most of all, you need to practice constant, never-ceasing vigilance. Get out your quills… copy this down…"

The remaining time of the lesson was spent in taking notes about the Unforgivable Curses, in complete silence from the entire class except Professor Moody speaking. When they were dismissed Asia took her time while packing her things, not wanting to be caught up in the crowd after the lesson they had just had.

When she walked out of the class after Harry, Ron and Hermione, as the last person, she could feel the stare of the oddly good teacher on her back till she was completely out the door.

She heard the people discussing the lesson as if it was some sort of spectacular show. Asia did not think so at all. But she was barely paying attention to what the people around her were saying as she made her way down the hallway to the Gryffindor common room. She did not notice Harry, Ron and Hermione stopping to talk to Neville, nor did she hear Harry calling her name to stop her. She kept walking till she reached the portrait hole, said the password and walked up the spiral staircase to the girls' dormitory.

Asia changed out of her uniform and decided to skip dinner, not in the mood of facing anyone. She sat by the window in her dormitory and stared at the full moon outside.

_Remus must be having a hard time tonight…_ she thought, _I should write to him soon._

Why did she feel so sad and miserable all of a sudden? She was tired and wanted to sleep. So she decided to skip doing homework tonight and went to lie down in her bed. After a few unsuccessful attempts to go to sleep, she decided to just stay complete her homework anyway. She did not realize how much time had passed till she had finished all her homework, neither did she realize how long after she had started picked up the Defence against the Dark Arts textbook, before Ginny came in and changed before going to bed.

When she heard the soft snores from Ginny's bed, signalling that she was asleep, she noticed that Hermione needed a reminder that there was a world outside the library that was waiting for her to go to call it a night for today.

Keeping that in mind, Asia stood up from her bed, turned off the lamps beside Ginny's bed and walked out of the dormitory, down the spiral staircase to the common room. When she reached the common room, she saw Harry and Ron doing homework. She heard them making up predictions for Divination, which made her chuckle, and signalled her arrival to the two boys. They snapped their heads up and saw her standing next to the staircase that led to the girls' dormitories with a small smile on her face.

They both smiled sheepishly, realizing that she was laughing at their so-called predictions.

"Care to explain?" she asked them before seating herself on a cushion next to Harry's seat.

"Here," Harry sighed and handed her his parchment.

She read the predictions out loud and grew more and more amused after each sentence:

"…next Monday… danger of burns… will be stabbed by someone who I think of as a friend by Tuesday…because of Venus in the twelfth house… I will lose a bet on Wednesday…"

She had just finished reading that entire he had written, while silently laughing, when the portrait hole opened to let Hermione in. She was carrying a sheaf of parchment and a box that rattled with her every step.

"Oh good," Asia said to her as she sat beside Ron and put her things in an empty chair next to her, "I was thinking of coming to remind you that there is a world outside the library that needs your attention."

Harry and Ron sniggered, but Hermione ignored the jibe and said, "I've just finished!"

"So have I!" Ron said triumphantly, as he dropped his quill and smiled.

Hermione pulled Ron's predictions towards her as Asia handed Harry's back to him so that he could complete.

"Not going to have a very good month, are you?" she said sarcastically.

"Ah well, at least I'm forewarned," Ron yawned out.

"You seem to be drowning twice," Hermione pointed out.

"Oh am I?" Ron asked while looking at his predictions, "I'd better change one of them to getting trampled by a rampaging hippogriff."

"Don't you think it's a bit obvious you've made these up?" Hermione asked.

"How dare you!" said Ron, in mock outrage. "We've been working like house-elves here!"

Hermione and Asia raised their eyebrows at him, making him look from one to the other and hastily say, "It's just an expression."

Harry put his quill down and passed the predictions back to Asia for her to read. She chuckled at the last prediction of his death by being beheaded.

"What's in the box?" he asked Hermione, pointing at the box in the chair beside her.

"Funny you should ask," she answered while throwing Ron a dirty look.

She opened the box and tilted it towards them to see its contents. Asia leaned in like the other two and saw that inside were around fifty badges of different colours, bearing the same letters: S.P.E.W.

"Spew?" Harry asked as he saw Asia pick up one of the badges and looking at it, "What's this about?"

"Are we about to find out the reason for your regular visits to the library?"

"Not spew," said Hermione impatiently. "It's S-P-E-W. Stands for the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare. And yes, you are."

"Never heard of it," Ron said.

"Well, of course you haven't," Hermione said, rather briskly, "I've only just started it."

"Yeah?" Ron said in surprise, "How many members have you got?"

"Well - if you three join - four," said Hermione.

"And you think we want to walk around wearing badges saying 'spew,' do you?" said Ron.

"S-P-E-W!" said Hermione hotly. "I was going to put Stop the Outrageous Abuse of Our Fellow Magical Creatures and Campaign for a Change in Their Legal Status - but it wouldn't fit. So that's the heading of our manifesto."

She brandished the sheaf of parchment at them.

"I've been researching it thoroughly in the library. Elf enslavement goes back centuries. I can't believe no one's done anything about it before now."

"Hermione - open your ears," said Ron loudly. "They. Like. It. They like being enslaved!"

"Our short-term aims," said Hermione, speaking even more loudly than Ron, and acting as though she hadn't heard a word, "are to secure house-elves fair wages and working conditions. Our long-term aims include changing the law about non-wand use, and trying to get an elf into the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, because they're shockingly underrepresented."

"And how do we do all this?" Harry asked.

"We start by recruiting members," said Hermione happily. "I thought two Sickles to join - that buys a badge - and the proceeds can fund our leaflet campaign. You're treasurer, Ron - I've got you a collecting tin upstairs - and Harry, you're secretary, so you might want to write down everything I'm saying now, as a record of our first meeting. And Asia – you can be responsible for the marketing, talk to house-elves, spread the word that there are people wanting to help them out."

Asia watched silently as there was pause in which Hermione beamed at the three of them, and Harry sat staring at her and Ron with a strange expression on his face that was a mixture of amusement and exasperation, while Ron had an odd look that made her laugh out loud.

"What's so fun-?" Hermione was interrupted by a soft tapping noise that came from the window.

They all quickly turned their heads and saw a snowy owl perched on the window sill.

"Hedwig!" Harry shouted as he launched himself across the room to open the window.

Hedwig flew inside and crossed the room to sit on the cushion Asia had previously occupied, before she stood up at the sudden commotion.

"About time!" Harry said as he rushed toward her.

"She's got an answer!" Ron exclaimed excitedly, as he pointed at a piece of rolled parchment tied to Hedwig's leg.

Harry quickly untied it and sat back down to read it, while Hedwig quivered onto his knee and softly hooted, asking for attention and gratitude.

Asia stared at Harry's excited expression changing to worried, then exasperated and finally angry.

"What does it say?" Asia asked.

Harry read it aloud for them to hear:

"_Harry -_

_I_'_m flying north immediately. This news about your scar is the latest in a series of strange rumours that have reached me here. If it hurts again, go straight to Dumbledore - they_'_re saying he_'_s got Mad-Eye out of retirement, which means he_'_s reading the signs, even if no one else is. Tell Asia to keep doing what she does. I__'__ll be in touch soon. My best to Asia, Ron, and Hermione. Keep your eyes open, Harry._

_Sirius._"

"What?" Asia whispered staring at the floor, shocked at the sudden turn of events.

"He's flying north?" Hermione whispered. "He's coming back?"

"Dumbledore is reading what signs?" Asia asked, confusedly.

"Harry - what's up?" Ron said as Harry had hit himself in the forehead with his fist, scaring Hedwig, as she flew off his knee and landed on the back of Ron's chair.

"I shouldn't've told him!" Harry said angrily.

"What are you on about?" said Ron in surprise.

"Why?" Asia asked him.

"It's made him think he's got to come back!" he replied while slamming his fist on the table this time, causing Hedwig to hoot indignantly and land in front of Asia, "Coming back, because he thinks I'm in trouble! And there's nothing wrong with me! And I haven't got anything for you," he snapped at Hedwig.

"Harry!" Asia said surprised at the way he was treating Hedwig.

"She'll have to go up to the Owlery if she wants food," he huffed to her, irritated.

Hedwig gave him an offended look and as about to fly off, when Asia used her wand to summon some treats from Harry's trunk up in his dormitory, and placed them before Hedwig. She then gave a look to Harry, as Hermione spoke.

"Harry," she began in an appeasing voice.

"I'm going to bed," Harry replied shortly. "See you in the morning."

Asia sighed and shook her head before turning to the other two.

"Give him time to cool down," she said, "You know him."

They both nodded, before Hermione decided to check Ron's homework for him and Ron decided to clean up is mess. A little while later, Hermione had checked Ron's predictions for spelling or grammar errors before grabbing her things and heading off to bed after muttering a goodnight to both of them.

Ron decided to leave a minute later too, leaving Asia alone with Hedwig who was about to finish her food. She stared off into space, thinking about Sirius' words to her in the letter.

'_Keep doing what she does.' _She thought, _what does he mean…?_

She suddenly remembered his last words to her before he had flown away on Buckbeak last year.

"You are a great friend and a smart witch," he had said to her before hugging her, "Promise you'll take care of him? Like you always do?"

She had nodded in reply and bid him goodbye and a safe journey before he flew away.

_Did he think I would stop?_ She thought with an ironic smile, _he does not know me then…_

She was snapped out of her thoughts when Hedwig nipped at her fingers, affectionately. Asia stroked the beautiful owl's head before letting her fly away to the Owlery. She was reminded of the night they had rescued Sirius.

_He had flown away the same way… into the dark night…_ she mused, _what if something happens upon his return?!_

Her heart clenched with worry.

_Harry must be blaming himself for this. He will blame himself if Sirius gets –_ she could not even get herself to think it.

After a few more minutes of thinking about the day, she left to go up to the dormitory to sleep. She had an exciting day today.

_Too exciting…_

But as she lay in bed, her thoughts did not seem to want to leave her in peace. She went to sleep only when the sun had just begun to show its colour in the horizon.


	15. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: The Foreigners, Part I**

Asia had always been the first to wake up and she was never there when Hermione and Ginny woke up; that also stood true for when she only had an hour of sleep. So it was worth imagining the look of utter surprise and shock on Hermione and Ginny's faces when they both woke up at the same time to see Asia still fast asleep on her bed, while clutching the only locket they had ever seen her wear. They both walked over to her and stood on either side of her bed, staring at her resting profile. She had dark circles under her eyes and her skin sagged as if too tired to glow like it usually did when she was at Hogwarts.

"She looks so tired," Ginny whispered, so as not to wake her up.

Hermione nodded mutely in response, her eyes fixed upon Asia.

"We've barely talked these past few days," Ginny said glumly, "She's always so busy studying… any idea why?"

"Mmmm," they heard Asia mumble in her sleep, "Do not… Harry… Save him…"

Hermione and Ginny exchanged looks before shaking their heads.

"Let her sleep for today," Hermione said after a few moments, "It looks like she barely got any sleep last night."

"She'll be mad when she wakes up," Ginny replied while shaking her head, but heading to the bathroom to get ready for the day without waking her, nevertheless.

Hermione sighed before beginning to get ready too. After a while, both the girls headed down for breakfast together, leaving Asia for a well-deserved rest.

"She seems so worried about something these past few days, doesn't she?" Hermione said as they descended the marble staircases that led to the entrance hall.

"Yeah, I noticed," Ginny said.

"I wonder what's worrying her so much that she barely gets any sleep at nights."

"Harry," Ginny sighed.

"What about him?"

"She's worried about him. Didn't you hear her mumbling in her sleep? She was asking for someone to save him…" Ginny trailed off.

"But –"

"Good morning, you two," they heard Harry the bottom of the staircase, in the entrance hall.

"Morning, Harry," Ginny said to him, "I'll go and sit with the twins. Have a good day!"

They both stared at her as she skipped off into the Great Hall. Hermione and Harry exchanged a look before walking into the Hall after Ginny.

"Anya's not here," Harry stated more than asked.

"Yeah, she's still asleep," Hermione answered tentatively.

"Who? Asia?" asked Ron, shocked, as they sat beside him at the Gryffindor table for breakfast.

"Yeah," Hermione answered while helping herself to some toast.

"Is she sick or something?" Harry asked her worriedly, "She never sleeps this late. I should go and ask Madam Pomfrey to –" He made to stand up.

"No, Harry!" Hermione said anxiously, pulling him back down, "She seems fine, just tired is all. I think she stayed up all night."

"For what?" Ron asked.

"She's worried, I think," she said with a slight frown on her lips, 'At least that's what we realized from…"

"What? From what, Hermione?" Harry asked impatiently.

"She mumbled in her sleep," Hermione answered quickly; Harry almost missed it, "She was asking someone to save… someone to save you."

"Save… me?" Harry asked, "Are you sure that's what she said?"

"Yes," Hermione answered shortly, clearly not in the favour of discussing something about Asia without her knowing, "Ask Ginny if you want."

With that she stuffed her mouth with toast and then took a sip of Pumpkin juice, effectively ending the conversation.

"I sent Sirius a letter," Harry began, catching the attention both, Ron and Hermione, as he continued to tell them about the contents of the letter.

While the trio discussed the letter Harry had sent to Sirius, Asia had woken up in her dormitory, still tired as ever and wanting to go back to sleep. She snapped out of the sleepy haze when she heard no sound of the usual deep breathing and soft snores she always did at waking up. Sitting up, she looked around for Hermione and Ginny, to find their beds empty and made.

_Have I slept in, or they woke up earlier than usual today?_ She thought as she reached for the clock on her bedside table.

She almost dropped the clock on the floor when she noticed the time. Breakfast would be over in fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes before classes started for the day. She jumped out of her bed, ignoring the protests from her still-sleepy eyes and hurriedly grabbed her uniform before heading to the bathroom.

Without taking a bath, deciding to take it after classes for the day were over, she brushed her teeth and changed into her uniform robes before grabbing her school bag and sprinted down the stairs into the common room, checking her bag for her quills, ink and parchment. She reached the Great Hall in record time, and saw that it was still half-full and everyone was taking the last few bites of their breakfast.

She barely acknowledged the surprised looks on Harry, Ron and Hermione's faces as she sat beside Harry and stuffed her mouth with some bacon, before taking a sip of Pumpkin juice. After swallowing, she turned to Hermione, who was sitting opposite her, with an empty breakfast plate.

"You dare do that again, Hermione," she said while glaring at her and trying to control her irregular breathing due to all the running, "I will hex you so bad; you will not be able to look at yourself in a mirror for months after."

"But you're tired, Asia," Hermione said smartly, "You need to sleep –"

"I need sleep as much as you do, Hermione," she snapped, "After six years of the kind of life I have lived; I think I can take care of myself."

She left without eating the rest of her breakfast and hurried off to the first class of the day that was History of Magic.

She decided to sit by herself when she reached class, too angry to be kind enough to pick her bag from the seat next to her for anyone to sit. But there was someone rude enough to pick up her bag by themselves and drop it at her feet before plopping themselves into the seat instead.

She looked up, ready to glare evilly at whomever it was, but she was surprised, to say the least, when she saw that it was Harry.

"You left breakfast too fast for me to inform you about the letter I wrote today," he said without looking at her, staring straight at Professor Binns who was busy droning on and on about Goblin rebellions to notice them talking.

Asia took a deep breath and said, "What letter?"

"I wrote to Padfoot," he said, his voice dropping to a whisper.

"What did you write?" she asked, suddenly forgetting all her anger she had at Hermione and Ginny for almost making her skip a day of classes on her first week back.

"I told him that it was a false alarm," he said, still whispering, "That he doesn't need to come back. And my head feels completely normal." He turned to look at her at the last sentence, "Please don't say that I shouldn't've written a lie."

"I was not going to say that," she said with a small smile before picking up her bag and extracting parchment, a quill and ink from inside ready to write down some notes, "I was going to say that if the scar is not hurting anymore, then you made a right choice. None of us want him going back now, do we?"

Harry nodded before folding his arms on the table and placing his head on them, still facing her and staring at her hand as she wrote.

"Your handwriting's different," he noted.

"Thank you, captain obvious," she replied with a chuckle.

"Are you still mad at Hermione?" he asked.

Asia paused mid-word and stared off into space, completely forgetting that she was supposed to be taking notes.

"She only meant well, Anya," he whispered, "She cares about you like a sister. She doesn't have any, so she considers you as one. You don't criticise her about her learning habits; and she barely meets any girls who don't. It was easy for her to worry; just like Ginny."

She stared at him for a moment and glanced at Hermione who sat a few seats away from them furiously scribbling down every word Professor Binns was saying and looked back at Harry, before her lips curved into a smile, "Stop it," she whispered.

"Stop what?" he asked, in a whisper as well, his eyebrows furrowed.

"This does not suit you. All this serious emotional talking." She said with an amused smile.

"Oh, I know," he said, smirking, "I thought so too."

She gave another chuckle before turning back to her notes. She stared at them for a few seconds, confused at what she had written, and then scratched the entire paragraph off to restart from where Professor Binns was now talking. She head silent laughter coming from beside her, which she tried hard to ignore, despite the smile it brought to her face.

"So, are you?" she heard Harry whisper after she had scratched whatever she had written.

"Am I, what?"

"Mad at Hermione."

"No," she said, smiling, "Not anymore, I am not."

Harry smiled at her one last time before letting her take notes in silence, but still keeping his eyes on her, flickering between her hands as they wrote paragraph after paragraph and her face that was contorted in concentration; hanging onto every word Professor Binns was saying.

That weekend, Asia forcefully took Harry with her to the Quidditch pitch and flew around with him. It helped them take their minds off their worries. For Harry, it was the constant worrying about Sirius' whereabouts; while for Asia, it was her dreams as they became worse every night.

It was something new for her; having someone to fly with. She had never flown around with anyone watching her openly or even with anyone flying right beside her. Harry, as she had already known, was an amazing flyer.

They both tried to learn the moves they had seen at the World Cup and even raced around the Hogwarts' grounds. They joked and just let their worries leave them for a few hours. She had not laughed that hard in a long time.

"You're really good," Harry commented as they landed and were making their way back to the Castle.

"Thanks," she replied with a smile, "Do you know Oliver had said the same thing to me four years ago?"

"Oliver?" he asked, puzzled, "As in, Wood? He has seen you fly? And he didn't recruit you into the Gryffindor team?" Harry looked at her in disbelief.

She laughed at his expression, "Yes, Harry, Oliver Wood. He had seen me fly in first year, and he tried to get me to join the team too. But I refused."

"Why did you, though?" he asked her as they entered the entrance hall.

"Just… because I do not think I am good enough…" she trailed off, aware that it sounded lame even as she heard the words, "I know, it sounds lame when I say it, but it sounds reasonable when I have kept saying it in my head, for the past four years… so, yeah…"

Harry laughed a little before saying, "Stop doubting yourself, Anya. It gets you nowhere in life. Look at me, for example. If I would have thought that I am not good enough to be a Seeker on the Gryffindor team, I would never had caught the Snitch in any of the matches. I had read somewhere a few years back, 'Believe in yourself, and you can even conquer the world.' I don't really remember where I had read it, it might have been in the Muggle school I used to go to, but they definitely wrote it well."

"Yes," Asia said while climbing up the marble staircase, "They did. Tell you what, Harry. Not this year, because it is not possible because of the Triwizard Tournament, but next year, I will try out for Gryffindor Chaser. What do you think? Will I be able to make it?"

"What do _you _think? Will you?" he asked her with a wide smile.

"Yes, I think I will," she answered as they reached the portrait hole, "Balderdash," she said to the Fat Lady and entered the common room with Harry following.

She waved to him before heading up to the girl's dormitory to get freshened up to go down for dinner.

While at dinner, Asia apologized to Hermione for snapping at her the day before at breakfast, to which she replied with a light laugh, "You barely had any sleep that night, Asia. You were cranky; it was expected."

The next two weeks passed with Asia and Harry waiting for Sirius' reply and trying not to constantly worry about him. They had barely talked after their flying session on the first Saturday back, and had not been to one after that.

The lessons had become harder as the weeks progressed and the burden of homework also increased, leaving less time for Asia to think about anything other than completing them. Though she did notice Harry's anxiety over the lateness of Sirius' reply by the way he searched for Hedwig every morning when mail arrived with other owls and would be disappointed every time.

They were all surprised when Professor Moody told them one day that he would put the Imperius Curse on each of them in turn, to test their resistance against it and to demonstrate how powerful it was.

"But - but you said it's illegal, Professor," Hermione said uncertainly as Professor Moody created a large space in the middle of the classroom with his wand, "You said - to use it against another human was -"

"Dumbledore wants you taught what it feels like," Professor Moody replied, "If you'd rather learn the hard way - when someone's putting it on you so they can control you completely - fine by me. You're excused. Off you go."

He pointed a finger toward the door and Hermione flushed in embarrassment before muttering something about "not meaning she wanted to leave".

Asia smirked, knowing fully well that Hermione would never want to miss such an important lesson. Harry and Ron grinned at each other and then glanced at Asia, thinking the same thing.

As the lesson progressed, Professor Moody beckoned students one by one, and put the Imperius Curse on them in turns. The others watched from the side lines as he made them do things they could never have done if they were in their normal state.

The lesson went pretty boring until Professor Moody called Harry to the middle.

"Potter," he growled, "you next."

Harry moved forward and stood in the middle of the class, like all the previous students had done, and Professor Moody pointed his wand at Harry and said, "Imperio!"

Asia braced herself to watch Harry do something painful or stupid, that he would have never done if he was completely awake. But he never did anything for the first few moments. Asia stared at him and then at Professor Moody confusedly and back, trying to figure out what was wrong. Professor Moody looked like he was concentrating really hard at making Harry to do something, but Harry's eyes showed that he had apparently refused to do whatever he was being asked to do.

Asia smiled as she realized that Harry was the first, and probably the only one, in their class to resist the Imperius Curse. She had only thought that, when Harry moved. He apparently was asked to jump on the table, but while trying to resist it, he smashed his head into the desk and fell to his knees, knocking the desk over.

Asia gasped in surprise.

"Now, that's more like it!" Professor Moody growled as Harry looked around a little confused at first, but then realizing where he was he winced at the obvious pain in his knees and head.

"Look at that, you lot… Potter fought! He fought it, and he damn near beat it! We'll try that again, Potter, and the rest of you, pay attention - watch his eyes, that's where you see it - very good, Potter, very good indeed! They'll have trouble controlling you!"

"Wait!" Asia exclaimed making Professor Moody turn to her in surprise, "Can you give him some time to sit down? His knees must be hurting. Please, Professor?" she added when she saw that he was about to protest.

Her pleading worked, as Professor Moody nodded mutely and beckoned Harry to take a seat.

"Would you like to come up now, Ms Malfoy?" Professor Moody said it as a question, but she knew that she had no choice in the matter.

So she wordlessly walked to the middle of the room, as Harry walked over to a chair beside where she had stood previously.

Asia took a deep breath as she heard Professor Moody say, "Imperio!"

It was an amazing feeling. She felt free, as if she was floating, too light after all the worries had been wiped away from her mind. She felt immeasurably relaxed, but was still aware of others' stares on her.

Then she heard Professor Moody' voice, as if he was whispering it in her head, _Slap Harry…slap Harry…_

She almost took a step forward, when she stopped herself.

_Why would I want to slap Harry? No. Anyone but Harry,_ she thought.

Professor Moody's voice spoke again, _Slap Harry Potter… slap Harry Potter…_

_No! I will never slap Harry. I will never hurt him, Professor._

_Slap him! Do it, NOW!_ Professor Moody shouted in her head.

_NO!_ She shouted back, _I will not slap Harry!_

Then, all of a sudden, the haze vanished and she was staring at Professor Moody, who was smiling at her in amusement. She looked around to see the class laughing at her and Harry trying really hard to stop himself from following everyone's example.

She blushed in embarrassment, finally realizing she had said that out loud and looked down suddenly finding her shoes interesting.

"Well," said Professor Moody roughly, "Now we know never to ask you to do that, Ms Malfoy."

Everyone laughed again, including Harry, and she smiled slightly before walking back to her original spot beside Harry.

"Very good, Malfoy," Professor Moody growled, "They don't stand a chance against you. Come, Potter. Let's try you again."

And the class proceeded after he made Harry go through drill four times in a row, until Harry could completely control himself against the Imperius Curse.

"The way he talks," Harry muttered as he limped beside Ron, Hermione and Asia out of the class, "you'd think we were all going to be attacked any second."

"Yeah, I know," Ron agreed while skipping on every alternate step, "Talk about paranoid…" Ron glanced nervously over his shoulder to check that Professor Moody was definitely out of earshot and went on. "No wonder they were glad to get shot of him at the Ministry. Did you hear him telling Seamus what he did to that witch who shouted 'Boo' behind him on April Fools' Day? And when are we supposed to read up on resisting the Imperius Curse with everything else we've got to do?"

The amount of class and homework they were being asked to do was increasing at a rather fast pace for the fourth years. Even Hermione and Asia had difficulty trying to keep up with homework, sleep and feeding. Though for Asia, studying was a major priority rather than sleeping and eating, as everyone else noticed. She had become skinnier and her skin had become pale due to being up cooped up inside all the time; she also had distinguishable dark circle beneath her eyes now.

One particular Transfiguration lesson, they found out the reason behind the overload of work from Professor McGonagall.

"You are now entering a most important phase of your magical education!" she had said with a dangerous gleam in her eyes behind her glasses, "Your Ordinary Wizarding Levels are drawing closer —"

"We don't take O.W.L.s till fifth year!" Dean Thomas yelled with outrage.

"Maybe not, Thomas, but believe me, you need all the preparation you can get! Miss Granger and Miss Malfoy remain the only two in this class who have managed to turn a hedgehog into a satisfactory pincushion. I might remind you that your pincushion, Thomas, still curls up in fright if anyone approaches it with a pin!"

Hermione and Asia flushed when everyone turned to look at them, impressed and also envious.

What was more amusing was when Professor Trelawney told Harry and Ron that they had received top marks for their homework. Asia had a hard time to control her chuckles when she praised their acceptance of horrors in store for them and even read a few predictions out to the whole class. But it was a real task to control her bubbling laughter when she saw the looks on Harry and Ron's faces when Professor Trelawney asked them to do the same thing for the month after the next. They were utterly horror struck because Ron later told her that they were running out of calamities.

In addition to that, Professor Binns was making them write weekly essays on goblin rebellions from the eighteenth century; Professor Snape was forcing them to research antidotes while hinting that he would poison one of them before Christmas (she did not believe it for a second but she did not say anything to Ron or Harry who believed that he might as well); Professor Flitwick wanted them to read extra books to prepare for the Summoning Charms (which neither did Hermione nor did Asia need as much, but did nevertheless); Professor Sinistra was making them do weird calculations and write long essays about the past and future Lunar and Solar eclipses; and Hagrid too added to the load by saying that he wanted them to visit his hut on alternative evenings to observe the skrewts and take notes of their unusual behaviour.

"I will not," Draco had said flatly when Hagrid had proposed this, "I see enough of these foul things during lessons, thanks."

The comment made the smile to fall off Hagrid's face.

"Yeh'll do wha' yer told," he growled, "or I'll be takin' a leaf outta Professor Moody's book… I hear yeh made a good ferret, Malfoy."

All Gryffindor students bellowed with laughter to Draco's expense as he had flushed with anger and did not retorted to the jibe. Asia found it a little strange that he never said anything back, but it made her feel really good. Draco had, after all, made an attempt to get Hagrid sacked last year and it was nice to see him be put down by Hagrid.

She returned to the castle in a good mood, despite her tiredness and hunger due to having less sleep and breakfast than needed. Asia walked behind Harry, Ron and Hermione, without them knowing that she was there. As she followed them into the entrance hall, they were stopped because of a crowd of students near the foot of the marble staircase; there was a large sign set up there.

Harry glanced behind him, and was seemingly surprised to find Asia standing, but he smiled at her nevertheless.

"Where've you been?" he asked her.

"Right here all this time," she said quietly, surprised at the strange question.

"Haven't talked to you this whole week," he said to her while they walked through the throng of students to get a closer look at the sign, Ron and Hermione in the lead.

"Been busy," she replied with a shrug.

Ron stood on his toes and read the sign out loud to the three of them:

"TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT

THE DELEGATIONS FROM BEAUXBATONS AND DURMSTRANG WILL BE ARRIVING AT 6 O'CLOCK ON FRIDAY THE 30TH OF OCTOBER. LESSONS WILL END HALF AN HOUR EARLY –"

"Brilliant!" Harry exclaimed, "It's Potions last thing on Friday! Snape won't have time to poison us all!"

"STUDENTS WILL RETURN THEIR BAGS AND BOOKS TO THEIR DORMITORIES AND ASSEMBLE IN FRONT OF THE CASTLE TO GREET OUR GUESTS BEFORE THE WELCOMING FEAST," Ron finished and turned to them with a big smile.

"Only a week away!" Ernie Macmillan of Hufflepuff said as he emerged from the crowd with twinkling eyes, "I wonder if Cedric knows. Think I'll go and tell him…"

"Cedric?" Ron asked while blankly staring at Ernie's back.

"Cedric Diggory," Asia said, "He must be entering the tournament."

"That idiot, Hogwarts champion?" Ron said as they emerged from the crowd into the Great Hall for lunch.

"He is not an idiot," Asia said with a snigger and a shake of her head.

"You just don't like him because he beat Gryffindor at Quidditch," said Hermione in a matter-of-fact tone, "I've heard he's a really good student - and he's a prefect."

"You only like him because he's handsome," Ron mocked them.

"I think of him like a brother, Ron" Asia groaned exasperatedly as they took a seat at the Gryffindor table.

"And excuse me; I don't like people just because they're handsome!" Hermione exclaimed, indignantly.

Ron gave a loud false cough, which sounded oddly like "Lockhart!"

Asia and Harry laughed as Hermione gave a huff and glared at Ron before loading her plate with some food. She even forced Asia to eat more, so much that she felt that she could stay full for a few more days without any more food.

For the rest of the week, Asia saw as the only topic of conversation within the walls of the castle was the incoming group of students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. Everyone talked about the upcoming Triwizard Tournament, who would be trying out for Hogwarts' champion, and something or the other to do with the upcoming events.

Asia seemed to be the only one who spent most of her time in the library or in a lonely corner in the common room, studying or writing something. Her dreams seem to grow more confusing every day. She kept dreaming about Harry and a dragon in an arena, Harry under water with gills and flippers, Harry in a dark maze, Harry tied to a tombstone as Peter Pettigrew brewed a potion, Harry still tied to a tombstone as Voldemort talked to hooded figures surrounding them, Father talking to Voldemort, Harry and Voldemort duelling and Professor Moody dragging Harry away from the Quidditch pitch. She did not know what to do about these dreams, as they were becoming more and more terrifying. She felt that engrossing in studies would be the best way to keep them off her mind, and she did so too.

She even researched about the tasks of the Triwizard Tournament, trying to figure out what the tasks may be; if they were the same she had been dreaming Harry face. She found out a lot about the rules and regulations of the Tournament and the tasks, the judges, traditions, and much more. There was something about a Yule Ball in a few books too. She guessed that it must be the formal occasion they were supposed to attend later that year.

The staff at Hogwarts was also becoming tense by the second. Mr Filch went ballistic if anyone even sneezed over an artefact, as every nook and cranny had been polished clean and the castle sparkled. The grimy portraits had been scrubbed, every suit of armour had been polished and they did not squeal with every movement anymore. Even the teachers pushed the students harder to get them to be very well-behaved with the delegations around.

When Friday came around, it was as if the Great Hall had been decorated overnight. Hogwarts banners hung from every wall, each either representing a Hogwarts House, or just the Hogwarts coat of arms for the one behind the staff table.

Asia had woken up earlier than everybody as usual and was reading another book for the Summoning Charm, when people started streaming in and looked around the Hall in awe. Fred and George came in and most unusually sat separate from everyone else and conversed in low voices like they had been doing for the past weeks. Seeing this, Asia decided to inquire them about the exact reason of their strange behaviour.

"Hey, you two," she said as she sat beside Fred, opposite George.

"Hey, Asia," they both replied with surprised looks on their faces, probably not expecting her to come and sit with them.

"So," she said, "Spill."

"Spill –"

"–what?" Fred completed for George.

"You know exactly what," she answered, "If you really do not want anyone knowing about something, at least act normal. All this whispering and speaking in hushed volumes is making everyone suspicious."

They exchanged looks and flushed as they realized what she was trying to say, making her roll her eyes.

"Oh, come on," she said, "You really thought no one noticed? Harry, Ron and Hermione have been wondering…"

"Should we –?" said Fred as he stared at his twin.

"I think we should," George answered and turned to Asia with a strangely sweet smile, "You know we trust you, right?"

She nodded, now more suspicious than before.

"Well," Fred sighed before exchanging a glance with George and turning to her, "we are telling you a secret that no one should know till we have sorted everything out, okay?"

She nodded again.

"Ludo Bagman," George began, "Remember we had bet with him at the World Cup?"

"Yes," she said.

"Well, the money he returned to us –"

"Was Leprechaun gold," finished Fred.

She nodded her head really slowly and thought if it was a mistake, "It could have been –"

"– a mistake?" Fred gave a bitter laugh while George shook his head with a rueful smile.

"Far from it," said George, "He's been ignoring our letters. Not a single reply."

"Seems to us, he's broke," said Fred.

"So, he is a cheat?" she asked.

"Yep," they chorused, "A definite cheat."

"Has been avoiding us ever since the World Cup," continued George.

"It's a bummer, really," said Fred, right when Harry, Ron and Hermione joined them.

"Who's avoiding you?" Ron asked as he sat beside George.

Harry sat beside Asia and Hermione sat on George's other side.

"Wish you would," Fred replied, irritated.

"What's a bummer?" Ron asked George.

"Having a nosy git like you for a brother," George said, making Asia snigger.

"You two got any ideas on the Triwizard Tournament yet?" Harry asked. "Thought any more about trying to enter?"

Asia stiffened at the mention of anyone of them entering, especially Harry.

"I asked McGonagall how the champions are chosen but she wasn't telling," George said severely, "She just told me to shut up and get on with transfiguring my raccoon."

Asia sighed before continuing to read her book, but not really paying attention to the words.

"Wonder what the tasks are going to be?" Ron said thoughtfully, making her think of her dreams and of the different things Harry had faced in them, "You know, I bet we could do them, Harry. We've done dangerous stuff before…"

"Not in front of a panel of judges, you haven't," Fred said, "McGonagall says the champions get awarded points according to how well they've done the tasks."

"Who are the judges?" Harry asked.

"Well, the Heads of the participating schools are always on the panel," Asia said suddenly looking up from her book.

Everyone, except Hermione, looked at her in surprise.

Hermione noticed and said, "Because all three of them were injured during the Tournament of 1792, when a cockatrice the champions were supposed to be catching went on the rampage."

She noticed them all, except Asia who had returned to her book, looking at her and said impatiently, "It's all in Hogwarts, A History. Though, of course, that book's not entirely reliable. A Revised History of Hogwarts would be a more accurate title. Or A Highly Biased and Selective History of Hogwarts, Which Glosses Over the Nastier Aspects of the School."

"What are you on about?" asked Ron.

"House-elves!" Hermione exclaimed, "Not once, in over a thousand pages, does Hogwarts, A History mention that we are all colluding in the oppression of a hundred slaves!"

Asia shook her head, but said nothing as she continued reading about the different types of Summoning Charm. She did not pay any more attention to them, as she did so.

A few minutes later, she heard the regular whooshing sound, alerting them all of the arrival of mail. She looked up to see if Hedwig had arrived, and she was right. She watched in anticipation as she soared toward them and landed on Harry's shoulder Harry with a flutter.

Harry untied the letter from her leg and then offered some bacon rinds, which she ate gratefully. Hermione had stood up and walked over to sit on Harry's other side as Harry unrolled the piece of parchment and began to whisper it loud enough for the other three to hear after glancing carefully at the twins who were deeply conversing about the Tournament.

"_Nice try, Harry._

_I_'_m back in the country and well hidden. I want you to keep me posted on everything that_'_s going on at Hogwarts. Don_'_t use Hedwig, keep changing owls, and don_'_t worry about me, just watch out for yourself. Don_'_t forget what I said about your scar._

_Sirius_

"Why d'you have to keep changing owls?" Ron asked in a low voice.

"Hedwig will attract too much attention," Asia answered.

"Yeah," Hermione said at once, "She stands out. A snowy owl that keeps returning to wherever he's hiding… I mean, they're not native birds, are they?"

Harry rolled up the letter and slipped it inside his robes, before stroking Hedwig.

"Thanks, Hedwig," he said.

She hooted sleepily, dipped her beak briefly into his goblet of orange juice, then took off again, clearly desperate for a good long sleep in the Owlery.

The entire day, the air was filled with anticipation for the arrival of delegations later that evening. No one paid special attention in lessons and barely anyone could do any of the practical lesson right, which included Defence against the Dark Arts, Charms, and Transfiguration. Even Potions went better than usual for everyone, because of it being a short period.

After the bell rang, telling them that they had to get to the front of the castle to greet the schools, they all headed up to the Gryffindor common room to drop their bags off. Hermione and Asia rushed up the spiral staircase and pulled on their cloaks after putting their bags on their beds, and then went down to the common room to wait for Harry and Ron. A few moments later, they were walking into the entrance hall to line up with fellow Gryffindors.

"Weasley, straighten your hat," Professor McGonagall snapped at Ron and walked ahead, "Miss Patil, take that ridiculous thing out of your hair."

Asia just watched Harry's face as it glowed with excitement and anticipation, which was quite the opposite of what she felt at the moment. She felt apprehensive, knowing something was about to happen which would not be good; not necessarily today, but soon. She had tried to drown the feeling for a long time, but today it was harder to do so.

"Follow me, please," Professor McGonagall said "First years in front… no pushing…"

She followed the line with everyone else as they walked down the steps and out into the cold evening, stopping a few feet away from the great oak doors.

They all stood in rows of four; Asia between Harry and Hermione, while Harry between Ron and Asia.

"Nearly six," Ron said as he checked his watch, "How d'you reckon they're coming? The train?"

"I doubt it," Hermione answered.

"How, then? Broomsticks?" Harry said, looking up at the sky.

"I don't think so… not from that far away…"

"A Portkey?" Ron suggested. "Or they could Apparate - maybe you're allowed to do it under seventeen wherever they come from?"

"You can't Apparate inside the Hogwarts grounds, how often do I have to tell you?" said Hermione impatiently.

Asia stood silently, listening to them guess the means of transport, while watching the sky. It was clear of any clouds and a pale, bright moon was shining over the trees of the Forbidden Forest. The next full moon was due in a couple more days, reminding her that she still had not written to Remus; too busy trying to cope with the pressure of studies to remember. Then while she observed the moon, she saw a huge body passing from in front of it, completely hiding it for a few moments. It looked as if the Lunar Eclipse had come earlier than expected – which according to her Astronomy calculations was sometime in mid-November.

Then she heard Professor Dumbledore call out from the back row, where he stood with the other teachers, "Aha! Unless I am very much mistaken, the delegation from Beauxbatons approaches!"

"Where?" she heard many students wonder out loud, as she watched the huge body come nearer and nearer.

She stared at it with narrowed eyes, thinking of it to be some sort of dangerous thing, but as it grew closer she realized that the huge body was nothing more than what Professor Dumbledore had just announced about. It was indeed a giant, baby-blue horse-carriage being pulled by a dozen, palomino, and winged horses that were each a size of an elephant.

"There!" she yelled, pointing at the carriage.

"It's a dragon!" shrieked one of the first years.

"Don't be stupid… it's a flying house!" said Dennis Creevey.

"It is beautiful," Asia said breathlessly, loud enough for everyone to hear.

They all glanced at her in confusion, apparently none of them had realized what the huge body that was approaching them was. She chuckled and shook her head at their cluelessness and resumed watching the beautiful carriage and Pegasus like creatures.

The horses landed with a huge crash, in tremendous speed, making the front three rows of students to stumble back. When the carriage had come to a complete stop, the door of the carriage that bore the coat of arms – two crossed, golden wands, each emitting three stars – opened to let out a pale boy in blue robes. He did something on the carriage floor before jumping back to let a set of golden steps unfold from inside.

Then from inside the carriage, appeared a shiny, high-heeled, black shoe. Asia gasped at the size, which was that of a child's sled. A woman emerged a moment later. She looked as huge as Hagrid, but somehow she seemed larger.

As she stepped into the light flooding from the entrance hall, she was revealed to have a handsome, olive-skinned face; large, black, liquid-looking eyes; and a rather beaky nose. Her hair was drawn back in a shining knob at the base of her neck. She was dressed from head to foot in black satin, and many magnificent opals gleamed at her throat and on her thick fingers.

Professor Dumbledore initiated the claps, and everyone else followed. Asia watched as she smiled at the seeing Professor Dumbledore and walked a few steps toward him, extending a hand. Professor Dumbledore, though tall himself, had barely to bend to kiss it.

"My dear Madame Maxime," he said. "Welcome to Hogwarts."

"Dumbly-dort," said Madame Maxime in a deep voice. "I 'ope I find you well?"

"In excellent form, I thank you," he replied.

"My pupils," Madame Maxime said as she waved a hand behind her.

Asia followed her gesture and saw around a dozen boys and girls, in their late teens, shivering in the cold due to their thin, blue, silk robes. She was too busy observing them to notice that Madam Maxime had continued her conversation with Professor Dumbledore, and had signalled her students to follow her. She only looked away from them, to exchange a look with Hermione, when they had begun to follow Madam Maxime into the entrance hall for some warmth.

"How big d'you reckon Durmstrang's horses are going to be?" Seamus Finnigan asked the four of them, as he leaned across Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown from behind.

"Well, if they're any bigger than this lot, even Hagrid won't be able to handle them," Harry answered, "That's if he hasn't been attacked by his skrewts. Wonder what's up with them?"

"Maybe they've escaped," Ron said hopefully.

"Oh do not say that," Asia shuddered at that, "Imagine that lot loose on the grounds…"

They had now begun to shiver slightly too, because of the cold, waiting for the Durmstrang party to arrive. Suddenly she heard some sort of eerie rumbling and sucking sound coming from the lake.

"Can you hear something?" Ron said suddenly.

"It is coming from the lake…" Asia trailed off, squinting at the lake, trying really hard to see in the dark.

"The lake!" yelled Lee Jordan, pointing down at it. "Look at the lake!"

From their position at the top of the lawns overlooking the grounds, they had a clear view of the smooth black surface of the water - except that the surface was suddenly not smooth at all. Some disturbance was taking place deep in the center; great bubbles were forming on the surface, waves were now washing over the muddy banks - and then, out in the very middle of the lake, a whirlpool appeared, as if a giant plug had just been pulled out of the lake's floor… What seemed to be a long, black pole began to rise slowly out of the heart of the whirlpool… and then Asia saw the rigging…

"It's a mast!" Harry said to her, Ron and Hermione.

Slowly a huge and magnificent ship rose out of the water, shining under the moonlight. When it had finally emerged completely out of the water, it sailed over to the bank. It took a couple more minutes for the anchor to be dropped and a plank to be lowered onto the bank, before people came ashore from the gaunt looking ship.

When they reached the light from the entrance hall, Asia noticed that as Hermione had said earlier, they all were wearing fur coats as a part of their uniform. However, the man who led the group wore a different kind of sleek and silvery fur that resembled his hair.

"Dumbledore!" he called heartily, walking up the slope, "How are you, my dear fellow, how are you?"

"Blooming, thank you, Professor Karkaroff," Professor Dumbledore replied.

He had a rich voice and he seemed honey-tongued, giving the impression of a man who liked to gloat and boast.

But then Asia remembered, _Never judge a book by its cover. You learned it the hard way, remember…_

Her eyes moved over to the students who stood behind Karkaroff. She found one of them extremely familiar and narrowed her eyes to stare at him. Her eyes widened in recognition.

"Hermione," she whispered.

"Hmm?" she hummed back.

"Dear old Hogwarts," she heard Karkaroff say.

"Look at the students," she whispered to Hermione while nodding her head towards them.

"What about them?"

"The one standing in the front," she answered, still whispering, "Looks a little familiar, does he not?"

She saw Hermione narrow her eyes at the figure and then comprehension dawn on her face before she whispered, "Victor Krum?"

Asia nodded, chuckling at her expression.

"How good it is to be here, how good…" Karkaroff continued, "Viktor, come along, into the warmth… you don't mind, Dumbledore? Viktor has a slight head cold…"

As Krum stepped forward, she heard Ron whisper "Harry - it's Krum!"


	16. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: The Foreigners, Part II**

Asia was now walking beside Hermione, Ron and Harry as all the students re-entered the castle behind the Durmstrang delegates.

"I don't believe it!" Ron said, in a stunned voice, "Krum, Harry! Viktor Krum!"

Asia just shook her head in amusement but Hermione, as usual, had something to say.

"For heaven's sake, Ron, he's only a Quidditch player," she said.

"Only a Quidditch player?" Ron said, looking at her as if she had grown two heads, "Hermione - he's one of the best Seekers in the world! I had no idea he was still at school!"

Asia looked around the entrance hall as they were crossing it to get into the Great Hall, she saw several Hogwarts students talking about Krum's arrival. Girls asked each other about their appearances, guys wanted to get a better look at him, and several looked for quill and parchment to get him to give them an autograph.

"Really," Hermione said disdainfully, apparently having noticed the people going crazy around them.

"I'm getting his autograph if I can," Ron said, now included in the crazy crowd, "You haven't got a quill, have you, Harry?"

"Nope, they're upstairs in my bag," Harry answered.

They headed over to the Gryffindor table, and Asia made for the corner she sat at when she was not with Harry, Ron or Hermione.

"Oh no, you don't," said Hermione as she grabbed Asia's arm and dragged her with her, forcing her to sit with them, "You are not sitting alone, especially not tonight."

With that Hermione pushed her to sit beside Harry and sat opposite her, beside Ron. Asia smiled at them and started looking around to observe the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students. The students from Beauxbatons chose to sit at the Ravenclaw table, but the Durmstrang students stood by the door, confused about where to sit.

"It's not that cold," Hermione said a defensively, apparently about the few students from Beauxbatons who had shawls over their heads and were still shivering, "Why didn't they bring cloaks?"

"Over here! Come and sit over here!" Ron hissed. "Over here! Hermione, budge up, make a space -"

"What?"

"Too late," he added bitterly, staring at the Durmstrang students who had finally chosen their seats which were at the Slytherin table.

Asia saw Annika flutter her eyebrows at Krum, as he had sat opposite her – unlucky for him, really – and talk to him. Asia shook her head.

_And she is only thirteen…_

Draco looked smug that the Durmstrang students had chosen to sit at their table and he leaned forward to talk to Krum too.

"Yeah, that's right, smarm up to him, Malfoy," she heard Ron say, scornfully. "I bet Krum can see right through him, though… bet he gets people fawning over him all the time… Where d'you reckon they're going to sleep? We could offer him a space in our dormitory, Harry… I wouldn't mind giving him my bed; I could kip on a camp bed."

Hermione snorted.

"They look a lot happier than the Beauxbatons lot," Harry said.

Asia turned to look at the staff table and saw Mr Filch adding chairs next to Professor Dumbledore's. He put four chairs, two on either side.

"Look," she said quietly while pointing at the staff table, "There are more people coming, apparently. Professor Karkaroff and Madam Maxime are two, but there are two more people to come. Who could it be?"

Hermione and Harry looked at the staff table, where she was pointing, while Ron vaguely said, Eh?" too busy staring at Krum.

A few minutes later, all the students had settled down, and the staff had also entered and were now taking their seats at the staff table. When Madam Maxime appeared, the students from Beauxbatons had stood up and did not take a seat till she had sat down on Professor Dumbledore's left side. A few Hogwarts students laughed at this, but Asia found it quite impressive; they exhibited their respect for their Headmistress and they did it with pride. Professor Karkaroff took a seat on Professor Dumbledore's right-hand side, and the other teachers also took their respective seats. Professor Dumbledore, however, stood standing and a silence fell over the entire Hall.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, ghosts and - most particularly - guests," he said, beaming around at the foreign students, "I have great pleasure in welcoming you all to Hogwarts. I hope and trust that your stay here will be both comfortable and enjoyable."

One of the Beauxbatons girls gave a sarcastic laugh. Maybe because she still felt really cold and was not really enjoying Hogwarts so far.

"No one's making you stay!" Hermione whispered, bristling at her.

"The tournament will be officially opened at the end of the feast," Professor Dumbledore continued, "I now invite you all to eat, drink, and make yourselves at home!"

He sat down, and the plates in front of them filled with food. However, the dishes were of greater variety this time; there were regular dishes as well as some foreign dishes for the visitors' comfort.

"What's that?" Ron asked, pointing at a large dish of some sort of shellfish stew that stood beside a large steak-and-kidney pudding.

"Bouillabaisse," said Hermione.

"Bless you," said Ron.

Asia grinned, aware that the dish was a French one.

"It is French," she said to Ron.

"Mhmm," said Hermione, taking a sip of Pumpkin juice, "I had it on holiday summer before last. It's very nice."

"I'll take your word for it," Ron said, helping himself to some French pudding.

"How do you know about it, Asia?" Hermione asked.

"Being an assigned cook for someone like the Malfoys makes one to have knowledge of several diverse dishes," she answered with a shrug.

Hagrid slunk into the Hall through a door behind the staff table twenty minutes after the start of the feast. He slid into his seat at the end and waved at Harry, Ron, Asia, and Hermione with a very heavily bandaged hand.

"Skrewts doing all right, Hagrid?" Harry called.

"Thrivin'," Hagrid called back happily.

"Yeah, I'll just bet they are," Ron said quietly to them, "Looks like they've finally found a food they like, doesn't it? Hagrid's fingers."

"Excuse me, are you wanting ze bouillabaisse?" a voice said from behind Asia.

She turned, along with Harry, and saw the same girl who had laughed during Professor Dumbledore's speech. She had silvery-blonde hair, long enough to reach her waist, large, deep blue eyes and white teeth.

Asia heard some sort of gurgling noise from behind her, and turned back to see Ron turned purple and his mouth open as he stared up at the girl.

She bit her lip and turned back to the girl with a polite smile.

"No," she said to her, "I think none of us want it anymore."

"Yeah, have it," Harry said while pushing the dish toward the girl.

The girl smiled at Asia and then said, "You 'ave finished wiz it?"

"Yeah," Ron said breathlessly, "Yeah, it was excellent."

Asia nodded and watched as the girl carefully picked up the dish and walked back to the Ravenclaw table, after smiling at her once again.

Ron was still ogling at the girl when Asia and Harry turned back to him. Harry started to laugh, which seemed to snap him out of it.

"She's a veela!" he said hoarsely to Harry.

"Of course she isn't!" Hermione said sharply, "I don't see anyone else gaping at her like an idiot!"

"I'm telling you, that's not a normal girl!" Ron said, "They don't make them like that at Hogwarts!"

"They make them okay at Hogwarts," Harry said, giving Asia a discreet glance.

But Asia was not paying attention to them anymore. She was looking at the staff table, where Barty Crouch and Ludo Bagman had just arrived.

"Look at the staff table," she interrupted the other three who were still arguing about the Beauxbatons girl.

"What are they doing here?" Harry asked in surprise.

"They organized the Triwizard Tournament, didn't they?" Hermione answered, "I suppose they wanted to be here to see it start."

After the plates were wiped clean of any food, Professor Dumbledore stood up once again, and everyone fell quiet. The tension was so thick in the air that Asia could have cut with on one of the knives on the table; everyone was excited and was waiting for Professor Dumbledore to start speaking.

"The moment has come," he said with a smile, "The Triwizard Tournament is about to start. I would like to say a few words of explAsiation before we bring in the casket —"

"The what?" Harry muttered.

Ron shrugged.

"Some sort of chest, Harry," Asia whispered to him, and turned back to listen to Professor Dumbledore after seeing Harry nod.

"- just to clarify the procedure that we will be following this year. But first, let me introduce, for those who do not know them, Mr Bartemius Crouch, Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation" - there was a polite applause - "and Mr Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports."

Everyone clapped louder and longer for Mr Bagman, maybe because he was known for his fame as a Beater. Asia glanced at Fred and George and saw them glaring at him while clapping along with everyone.

"Mr Bagman and Mr Crouch have worked tirelessly over the last few months on the arrangements for the Triwizard Tournament," Professor Dumbledore continued, "and they will be joining myself, Professor Karkaroff, and Madame Maxime on the panel that will judge the champions' efforts."

Everyone went strictly still at the mention of the word "champions". Asia was one of them, but she went still and tensed not out of excitement, but because she recalled Harry saying "champions" in one of her dreams.

Professor Dumbledore had noticed their sudden stillness, for he smiled as he said, "The casket, then, if you please, Mr Filch."

Mr Filch approached Professor Dumbledore with a great wooden chest covered with jewels; it was extremely old.

"The instructions for the tasks the champions will face this year have already been examined by Mr Crouch and Mr Bagman," Professor Dumbledore continued as everyone watched Mr Filch place the casket carefully on a table in front of him, "and they have made the necessary arrangements for each challenge. There will be three tasks, spaced throughout the school year, and they will test the champions in many different ways… their magical prowess - their daring - their powers of deduction - and, of course, their ability to cope with danger."

Asia could feel her heart beat faster and she was sure that everyone could hear it's thumping over the eerie silence that had taken over the Hall.

"As you know, three champions compete in the tournament," Professor Dumbledore went on calmly, "one from each of the participating schools. They will be marked on how well they perform each of the Tournament tasks and the champion with the highest total after task three will win the Triwizard Cup. The champions will be chosen by an impartial selector: the Goblet of Fire."

With the last four words, he pulled out his wand and tapped the lid of the chest thrice. The lid creaked open, slowly, and Professor Dumbledore pulled out a large wooden goblet. If it was not for the dancing blue-white flames the goblet was full of, it would have completely inconspicuous. He closed the casket, and put the goblet on top of it, very carefully. It was now visible to the entire Hall.

"Anybody wishing to submit themselves as champion must write their name and school clearly upon a slip of parchment and drop it into the goblet," Professor Dumbledore said, "Aspiring champions have twenty-four hours in which to put their names forward. Tomorrow night, Halloween, the goblet will return the names of the three it has judged most worthy to represent their schools. The goblet will be placed in the entrance hall tonight, where it will be freely accessible to all those wishing to compete.

"To ensure that no underage student yields to temptation," he added, "I will be drawing an Age Line around the Goblet of Fire once it has been placed in the entrance hall. Nobody under the age of seventeen will be able to cross this line.

"Finally, I wish to impress upon any of you wishing to compete that this tournament is not to be entered into lightly. Once a champion has been selected by the Goblet of Fire, he or she is obliged to see the tournament through to the end. The placing of your name in the goblet constitutes a binding, magical contract. There can be no change of heart once you have become a champion. Please be very sure, therefore, that you are wholeheartedly prepared to play before you drop your name into the goblet,"

A shiver went up her spine as she listened to the words. Everything was quiet, too quiet for her liking and she was not sure if she liked the idea of the Tournament even occurring at Hogwarts.

"Now, I think it is time for bed. Good night to you all," Professor Dumbledore said, effectively breaking the spell and snapping everyone into action as the scraping noise of the seats being pushed out could be heard all around the Hall.

She stood up along with the others and walked behind Hermione as Fred and George said something about using an Aging Potion.

_Champions… champions…_ the word kept repeating itself in her head. First in Harry's voice, then in Professor Dumbledore's voice; over and over again.

Suddenly Harry, who was leading the other three out of the Hall, stopped making Asia look up in confusion. She saw that Professor Karkaroff had reached the doors, leading his students, right when they had and Harry was giving them way to go first.

_Always the gentleman…_

Asia shook her head at her own thinking and walked over to stand beside him.

"Thank you," Professor Karkaroff said carelessly to Harry with a glance.

And then he froze.

Asia furrowed her eyebrows as he turned back and stared at Harry as if he could not believe his eyes. His students had stopped too and stared at Harry and Asia wondering the reason for their Headmaster's sudden halt. She watched as Professor Karkaroff's eyes slowly flickered up to Harry's scar and remained fixed upon it.

"Yeah, that's Harry Potter," said a growling voice from behind them.

Professor Karkaroff spun around. So did Harry, Asia, Ron and Hermione. They saw Professor Moody standing there, leaning heavily on his staff, his magical eye glaring unblinkingly at the Durmstrang headmaster.

Asia watched curiously, as the colour from Professor Karkaroff's face drained. He glared at Professor Moody with anger and fear combined.

"You!" he said, his tone held disbelief.

"Me," Professor Moody said grimly, "And unless you've got anything to say to Potter, Karkaroff, you might want to move. You're blocking the doorway."

Asia turned to look behind them and saw that he was right. Students were waiting, peering over each other's shoulders to see the cause of the blockage. Before she could turn back around, Asia caught the gaze of Victor Krum. He was staring at her and when he saw that she was looking back at him, he smiled. Asia smiled back, just the way they had done at the World Cup.

She turned back to the front and saw that Professor Karkaroff had resumed his walk and his students followed him out the Great Hall and then the entrance hall, back to their ship for the night.

An hour later, Asia was still awake in her bed, too scared to go back to sleep for she knew that her dreams were just waiting around the corner for her to turn so that they could attack her in the darkness of her sleep, where she was completely helpless against them.

But still, sleep came. And with it, came her tormenting dreams. She could not do anything to stop them from happening.

She was just that.

Helpless. Always.


	17. Chapter 15

Hogwarts' Cinderella

Page1

**Chapter 15: The Champions**

The next morning, Asia woke up before the sun, with a feeling of foreboding very strong in her head. It was Saturday today and she did not need to wake up so early, but she could not even go back to sleep. She still had another three hours before the house-elves would set up the Great Hall for breakfast, so she decided to go out for a long walk.

She changed into a long, peach dress that had a black ribbon around the waist, but was plain as all her other dresses. She pulled on a black cloak, tied her hair up in a messy bun as usual, and grabbed a book to read for later before walking out of the girls' dormitory. The common room was as empty as ever and the fire was out in the fire place.

_House elves have not visited us yet,_ she thought as she walked out of the portrait hole.

She headed to the Great Hall, dreading to see the Goblet which she was sure would be the bringer of bad news later in the day. There was no one in the entrance hall as she reached it; it was dark and empty like the rest of the castle. The torches had been turned off and the sleeping shapes on the portraits were waiting for the sun's first rays to stream in through the windows to wake them up. The only thing that stood out in the dark hall was the wooden Goblet of Fire. It spread blue light all over the hall and was too bright for Asia's eyes that were a little sensitive to bright lights due to the darkness in the rest of the castle. There was a golden circle surrounding the Goblet; Asia guesses that it was the Age Line Professor Dumbledore had talked about. A few students must have put their names in already, and many would do it later in the day.

Not giving the Goblet a second glance, she walked out of the castle, onto the vast grounds where she found the Beauxbatons carriage resting gracefully. The horses were lying asleep near Hagrid's hut as she walked past it to the lake, deciding to watch the sunrise. The sky was still dark blue and the moon was ever present over the canopy of the trees of the Forbidden Forest, but it was dull enough to not make a lot of difference to the dark grounds.

As she approached the lake, she saw the Durmstrang ship's silhouette, near the shore, against the dark-blue and purple twilight sky. It was completely still in the darkness of the lake, and it being skeletal gave it an utterly spooky look. She walked away from the ship, deciding to walk along the bank. She had only walked a few steps when she saw the first of the sun's rays peeking through the horizon.

As soon as she saw that, she decided to stop and watch the sun's progression through the sky before walking further.

It was a breath-taking display of radiant colours. The bright rays made the colours red, pink and orange overcome the initial dark-blue and purple of the twilight sky. The colours blended so perfectly into each other, as if a painter had splashed all the colours of his palette onto the sky. When the sun itself began to peek out of the horizon, the already bright rays became even more radiant and warmed the cool air. The rays fell on the Durmstrang ship, making it look mysteriously striking. As the sun progressed higher and higher, the rays warmed her face, and the sun lit the Hogwarts Castle the same way as the Goblet of Fire had been lighting up the entrance hall earlier.

She admired the sun's sparkly reflection on the lake and an exhilarating feeling of wonder swept over her. This was the first time in the fourteen years of her existence she had witnessed the birth of a new day. She shook her head in awe, wondering why she had not taken time out of her busy schedule to watch something much more amazing than a Quidditch match.

_I would have if the Malfoys had given me a chance even once any morning,_ she thought while she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, marvelling at the wonderful warmth from the freshly risen sun on her face.

While Anastasia stood at the lake's shore, someone from afar was admiring the young beauty more than the sunrise.

Albus Dumbledore stood by his window, like he did every morning to watch the sunrise over the Black Lake. He was surprised to see Anastasia walking out of the castle so early in the morning. Her black hair was tied up in a messy bun as usual, but a few curls had escaped and were curling around her face. Her eyes were closed and her face held a serene expression; it reminded him of the calmness of the sea before a disparaging storm. Her arms were crossed over her chest with a book held in between them. Something was wrong, but he could not put a finger on the problem.

He was aware about the current routine of the young girl and the way she had been stressing on herself to study harder ignoring the protests of her hungry and tired body for the past few weeks; he had been informed by all the teachers and had also been observing. She barely ate anymore and the tensed look on her face was quite a giveaway that something was going on in her mind.

_What must it be that is bothering this young soul so much that she has forgotten to live?_

Professor Dumbledore had come to care for the young girl so much he would not hesitate in saying that she was as good as a daughter for him. He was aware of her protectiveness toward Harry Potter and his friends; he had heard of the "ferret incident" that had occurred in the entrance hall the day after they had arrived at Hogwarts. No one knew how much he had observed her for the past few years. Every step she had taken toward success and toward being a true Gryffindor, he had observed and appreciated.

Even her wand told him so much about her character. Her attention-demanding personality; whenever she walked into a room, every eye would turn to her, attracted not only to her beauty, but also to her graceful and elegant demeanour. The girl was not even aware of the effect she had on the people around her; she was beautiful inside-out. The strength there was in the magic she did, almost as strong as his own. Whenever she spoke, which was not much, everyone was forced to listen to her because her words would be too important and wise to miss. She was Anastasia.

As he watched the young girl admiring the vast beauty, he could not help but think of her father; her real father, not Lucius Malfoy. Yes, he had known him when he was a kid; he had also known her mother. Her father was an amazing man. She was so much like both her parents, even if her mother was far from the amazing girl Anastasia was, her beauty was not something that could be taken for granted. He wondered many times what she would do when she would come to know that her father was an incredible friend of the father of one of her closest friends, who was her godfather. Her parents had died a month after her godparents…

Professor Dumbledore saw the look of awe on Anastasia's face as she observed the sun progressing over the lake. He chuckled but then stopped as he remembered the horrified look on her face when he had mentioned the Triwizard Tournament at the start of the year.

_She knows something I do not._

Just as he thought that, Anastasia began to walk further away from the castle. He kept a close eye on her for the next few moments, during which she had decided to take a seat next to one of the rocks near the lake. He turned away from the window when he saw that she had begun to read the book she had held in her hands.

_I will be having a word with the young girl very soon regarding her daily routine,_ he thought as he headed to his desk to complete a few pending tasks before breakfast.

In the meantime, Asia had begun to read the book she had brought with her. It was a Charms reference book, and she was reading about the Summoning Charm as Professor Flitwick had instructed. The sun was now lighting up the grounds and it was more than enough for her to read comfortably.

She had just finished reading her fourth or fifth page when she felt hunger grumbling in her stomach. Sighing, she stood up dejectedly, deciding to head back for breakfast, after a few more minutes. She had just walked a few feet and was close to the Durmstrang ship, when the plank was dropped again and the students walked out led by Professor Karkaroff. They noticed her walking toward them and glanced at her.

"Good morning, Professor Karkaroff," she said with a polite smile, "I hope you all slept well."

"Good morning, Ms…" he trailed off waiting for her to fill in.

"Anastasia," she answered, "But call me Asia, please, Professor."

They were now walking almost side by side, with her a little behind, as it was a hard task to keep up with his longer strides. The Durmstrang students were trailing behind Asia, Krum in the lead.

"Ms Asia," he said with a nod, "What are you doing up so early? I hope not here to get an autograph, are you?"

She noticed he was hinting that she was one of the obsessed fans of his famous student, Victor Krum. She frowned slightly before resuming her smile and answering politely, "I had come to watch the sunrise, Professor. If I was one of those obsessed fans then I would have decided to wait right in front of the ship, not several feet away from it."

Her answer had apparently surprised him because he momentarily paused in his strides and glanced at her once before smiling his steely smile again.

"Of course," he said complacently as they entered the entrance hall, "There are many students who want to watch the sunrise in such cold, are there not?"

"Not many, just me," she retorted, trying to be as polite as possible. She liked Professor Karkaroff lesser by the second, "Now if you could excuse me, Professor Karkaroff. I need to get some breakfast into my system."

She stopped a few feet away from the Goblet of Fire; the entrance hall was now filled with around twenty people, and turned to face Professor Karkaroff who had stopped a couple feet away his students further behind. She noticed that they had surprised looks on their faces, and the Hogwarts students around them looked on curiously.

"I would have loved to stay and chat to get to know you _way_ better than I already have," she said with a sarcastic smile on her face, "But, unfortunately, that would have to wait for some other time," she dropped her fake smile and raised an eyebrow contemptuously, "Have a great rest of the day, Professor; and also your lovely students, of course."

With that she turned around and left a stunned looking Professor Karkaroff and his students behind in the entrance hall. She was sure that they all had to put their names in the Goblet, and she did not want to be a witness to it. Professor Karkaroff had gotten on her nerves, probably more than Professor Snape ever had. She was sure her fellow Hogwarts students were also shocked at her disrespectful behaviour toward the Headmaster of their visiting school, when she had never been slightly mean to any teacher at all; she was not less surprised at the sudden boost of confidence.

The Great Hall had been redecorated over the night. It was Halloween today, so there were live bats flying around near the enchanted ceiling and carved pumpkins were placed at every corner.

Asia spent the next few minutes, eating breakfast and reading about the Summoning Charm simultaneously. It was almost half an hour after the little incident in the entrance hall when she heard familiar laughter from outside. She knew Fred and George were up to something regarding the Triwizard Tournament. She suddenly remembered Professor Dumbledore's words in the letter he had sent to her with the pouch. She quickly closed her book and stood up, leaving her remaining breakfast before rushing out of the Hall into the entrance hall.

When she reached, she saw Fred, George, Lee, Harry, Ron, and Hermione standing near the Goblet. She suddenly felt that even Ron and Harry would try entering, so she hurried up to the lot of them.

"We're going to split the thousand Galleons between the three of us if one of us wins," she heard Lee whisper to Harry, Ron and Hermione as she went to stand beside Ron.

"I'm not sure this is going to work, you know," Hermione warned them, "I'm sure Dumbledore will have thought of this."

Asia sighed in relief that Ron and Harry were not going to do it, but then she went alert again thinking about Fred and George.

"Ready?" Fred asked the other two with excitement. "C'mon, then - I'll go first -"

"No!" she whisper-shouted while pulling him back with his robes, "I will not let you do this!"

"Oh come on, Asia!" George whined like a three year old would do when denied of candy, "Think of the Galleons we could win if we were chosen."

"No," she repeated, rounding on him, "_You_ think of the danger your lives would be in if you did get chosen. Think about your Mother."

"Asia," Fred said, "You know our family could do with the money –"

"At the expense of a son's life?" she asked incredulously, shaking her head exasperatedly, "Fine! Go on, then. Knock yourself out."

She let Fred go and crossed her arms across her chest in annoyance before going to stand with Harry. Fred shook his head with an amused smile and pulled out a piece of parchment before walking up to the edge of the Age Line. Taking a deep breath, he crossed the line. Nothing happened for a moment, and everyone thought that it had worked; even Asia did because George whooped in triumph before jumping in after Fred.

Then right the next second, a sizzling sound could be heard and both the twins were chucked out of the circle as if thrown by a catapult. They landed around ten feet away from them, painfully, before both the twins sprouted identical white beards with a 'pop'.

Everyone started to laugh, while Asia stared at the two of them with her mouth open, astounded. She watched, with wide and slowly blinking eyes, as both the twins started to laugh as well. Slowly, eventually, she joined everyone else in the laughter, her eyes still wide shock. She looked around at Harry, Ron and Hermione and shook her head as they all laughed at their amusing friends.

The twins had stood up and were examining each other's beards, still laughing.

"I did warn you," a deep, amused voice said from behind them.

Everyone turned to see Professor Dumbledore coming out of the Great Hall. He scrutinised Fred and George's beards with a twinkle in his eyes.

"I suggest you both go up to Madam Pomfrey. She is already tending to Miss Fawcett, of Ravenclaw, and Mr Summers, of Hufflepuff, both of whom decided to age themselves up a little too. Though I must say, neither of their beards is anything like as fine as yours. If only you would have listened to Asia," he discreetly winked at Asia, making her snigger with a shake of her head.

After Fred and George left for the Hospital wing, with Lee laughing at them the entire way, Asia led Harry, Ron, and Hermione into the Great Hall while still chortling. Asia was about to sit in her previous position, but Hermione grabbed her arm and dragged her over to Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan, where Harry and Ron were already taking their seats. Hermione gave her a stern look as she made Asia sit beside her, opposite Ron and Harry; they were discussing hose Hogwarts students of seventeen or over who might be entering.

"We can't have a Slytherin champion!" Harry exclaimed with a disgusted shake of his head.

"And all the Hufflepuffs are talking about Diggory," said Seamus disdainfully.

"But I wouldn't have thought he'd have wanted to risk his good looks," said Ron.

Asia gave him a slight glare. She needed to have a talk with Cedric; she knew he would not make it alive out of this Tournament. Her dreams told her so.

"Listen!" Hermione said suddenly.

There was sound of cheering coming from the entrance hall. They all turned around and saw Angelina Johnson, the Gryffindor Chaser, grinning as she made her way to the Gryffindor table.

She sat next to them and said, "Well, I've done it! Just put my name in!"

"You're kidding!" Ron said, looking impressed.

"Are you seventeen, then?" asked Harry.

"Course she is, can't see a beard, can you?" Ron joked.

"I had my birthday last week," Angelina answered.

"Well, I'm glad someone from Gryffindor's entering," Hermione said, "I really hope you get it, Angelina!"

"Thanks, Hermione," Angelina smiled at her.

"Yeah, better you than Pretty-Boy Diggory," said Seamus, causing several Hufflepuffs passing their table to scowl heavily at him.

"Did you guys hear what Asia did this morning?" Seamus suddenly said, attracting the attention of almost everyone sitting close by.

"What did I do?"

"What did she do?"

Asia and Harry said at the same moment.

Dean grinned at her before turning to Harry and answered, "She back-talked Karkaroff."

"Oh, that," Asia said as she blushed in embarrassment and looked down at the book she had been reading.

"She what?" Harry asked, utterly shocked, "How? Why? What happened?"

Asia chose the moment to leave for the library, not wanting to hear any more.

"I am going to the library," she said to Harry, Ron, and Hermione, "I –"

"Anya," Harry interrupted her, "Stay and tell us what you said. He must have said something really bad to make you angry!"

"I think Dean and Seamus will tell you everything you need to know, Harry. I really have to go."

"But its Saturday!" said Ron.

"I know it is," she said anxiously, "But I need to work on the Astronomy essay, and Professor Flitwick wants us to read for the Summoning Charm. And have you lot forgotten Professor Snape asked us to research antidotes –?"

"Anya," Harry stood up, "We haven't been to visit Hagrid yet. Why don't we go down to his?"

"Harry, you lot go on. I will come down there by lunch time," she tried to negotiate, "How does that sound?"

"Alright," Harry conceded with a sigh.

"I will see you later," Asia said to them before heading off toward the library.

"See ya!" Harry, Ron, and Hermione chorused.

Asia spent hours in the library after that and by the time lunch rolled around, she had finished her Astronomy essay; two rolls of parchment more than what Professor Sinistra had asked for, though. She had read another full book on the Summoning Charm and was about to begin researching some more antidotes for Professor Snape, but lunch had come around, and she had promised Harry, Ron, and Hermione that she would meet them Hagrid's. So she stuffed her essay, quill, ink and books into her bag – she had collected it from her dormitory before heading over to the library – and replaced all the reference books back into their respective shelves and began the short walk to Hagrid's hut.

She knocked on Hagrid's front door and was received with a bark from Fang and couple thumps before Hagrid opened the door.

"Bout time!" he said, "Was 'bout to send a search party!"

"Sorry, Hagrid," she said with a smile while surveying his attire, "Lost track of time. Can I come in now?"

Hagrid opened the door wider so that she could walk in. She stepped in from around him and sae Harry, Ron, and Hermione sitting at the wooden table with large plates of what looked like…

_Beef casserole…?_ She thought, eyeing the plates before raising her eyebrows at Ron who looked as if he was going to throw up.

She simply grinned before taking a seat beside Hermione on the table.

"D'you wan' some casserole, Asia?" Hagrid asked her as he closed the door and resumed his seat beside the fireplace.

"Umm…" she glanced fleetingly at Hermione's plate and shook her head, "No, thank you, Hagrid. I snacked on some treacle tarts before coming here."

'_Lies'_ she saw Harry mouth to her from across the table with a smirk.

She pursed her lips to stop herself from laughing and looked away at Fang who sat at Hagrid's feet, dribbling like usual.

Hermione had just started talking about S.P.E.W., when a light rain had started wetting the grounds outside again. But Hagrid flatly refused when she asked him to join, making Harry, Ron and Asia trying to smother their grins.

"It'd be doin' 'em an unkindness, Hermione," Hagrid said gravely, "It's in their nature ter look after humans, that's what they like, see? Yeh'd be makin' 'em unhappy ter take away their work, an' insutin' 'em if yeh tried ter pay 'em."

"But Harry set Dobby free, and he was over the moon about it!" said Hermione. "And we heard he's asking for wages now!"

"Yeah, well, yeh get weirdos in every breed. I'm not sayin' there isn't the odd elf who'd take freedom, but yeh'll never persuade most of 'em ter do it - no, nothin' doin', Hermione."

Hermione was very irritated at Hagrid's refusal to join and stuffed her box of badged back into her cloak pocket. By half past five, it had begun to grown dark outside and they all decided that it was time to get back for the Halloween feast and the most dreaded – for Asia, at least – announcement of the school champions.

"I'll come with yeh," Hagrid said, as he stood up, "Jus' give us a sec."

He went to a chest of drawers that stood beside his bed and began rummaging through it, looking for something. They kept walking until a really horrid smell reached them and they began coughing.

"Hagrid, what's that?" Ron said, between his coughs.

"Eh?" Hagrid said as he turned around revealing a large bottle in his hand, "Don' yeh like it?"

"Is that aftershave?" Hermione asked, chokingly.

"Err - eau de cologne," Hagrid muttered as his cheeks turned pink behind his beard, "Maybe it's a bit much," he added abruptly, "I'll go take it off, hang on…"

He stomped out of his cabin to wash himself in the water barrel outside the window.

"Eau de cologne?" Hermione asked, amazed, "Hagrid?"

"And what is it with the hair and that strange attire?" Asia asked them in a low voice.

Harry just shook his, telling her that he was as confused as her.

"Look!" Ron suddenly, pointed out of the window.

Hagrid was as red as a tomato. Madam Maxime had just led her students out of their carriage, apparently getting ready to go to the feast. Hagrid and Madam Maxime were talking to each other, they could not hear exactly what, but Hagrid had a strange expression on his face. Asia exchanged a glance with Harry.

"The last time I remember Hagrid wearing that expression was when he was looking at the baby dragon, Norbert," she whispered to Harry, Ron, and Hermione, turning back to watch Hagrid walking toward the castle with Madam Maxime and her students following them in a jog.

"He's going up to the castle with her!" Hermione said heatedly.

"I thought he was waiting for us!" Harry said.

"He fancies her!" Ron said incredulously, "Well, if they end up having children, they'll be setting a world record - bet any baby of theirs would weigh about a ton."

"Shut it, Ron," Asia said, "I think it is sweet. He would have someone to talk to other than three teenagers and Professor Dumbledore. He needs it, just like –"

She stopped herself and took a glance at the others before clearing her throat and straightening up.

"Come on, we should leave too," she said, walking toward the door.

She led the other three up the sloping lawns, back to the castle that was lighting up the strangely dark grounds around it. They pulled their cloaks closer together and began their walk back to the castle.

"Ooh it's them, look!" Hermione whispered to them.

Asia followed her gaze and saw the Durmstrang party walking up from the lake toward the castle. She glanced at Harry, Ron, and Hermione and saw that they were looking between her and Professor Karkaroff and were trying to stop themselves from laughing. She smiled and shook her head before looking back to the front. Professor Karkaroff and Krum were walking together, leading the group, and they both spotted her walking beside Harry as they reached the front doors together.

Professor Karkaroff looked between both of them with his cold and steely eyes and gave them a strained smile, before looking away and walking ahead of them. While Krum glanced at Asia and gave her a real smile and nodded at Harry before following his Headmaster.

They entered the almost-full Great Hall and sat at the Gryffindor table next to Fred and George, who had now shaved. Harry and Asia sat beside Fred while Ron and Hermione sat beside George, opposite them.

"Hope it's Angelina," Fred said as they sat down.

"So do I!" Hermione said breathlessly. "Well, we'll soon know!"

Asia did not have the heart to correct them that it would not be Angelina or anyone who had put their names in from Gryffindor. She ignored the terror that had clutched at her heart when she saw the Goblet of Fire standing in front of Professor Dumbledore's seat at the staff table.

The Halloween feast was eaten with an air of impatience all around the Hall. No one seemed to be enjoying it as much as they usually would have. It was because of two obvious reasons: it was their second feast in two days; and no one seemed to have an appetite because of the curious butterflies in their stomachs that waited for the moment to come when the champions would be announced.

Asia barely touched her food, too busy thinking about the possibilities of what might happen tonight to pay attention to the extravagant dishes displayed in front of her. Hermione looked at her in concern, but never said anything.

_She must think I am too excited to eat,_ she thought.

After what seemed like years, the golden plates were cleared of any and all food that had been left uneaten. The sound in the Hall went down so quick, it seemed like Professor Dumbledore had clicked a switch with his feet as he stood up. Asia, like anyone else, looked up at him expectantly, waiting for the most expected moment, except for Asia.

"Well, the goblet is almost ready to make its decision," Professor Dumbledore said with a small smile, "I estimate that it requires one more minute. Now, when the champions' names are called, I would ask them please to come up to the top of the Hall, walk along the staff table, and go through into the next chamber" - he indicated the door behind the staff table - "where they will be receiving their first instructions."

Pulling out his wand, he gave it a great wave, causing all the candles, but the ones in the carved pumpkins, to extinguish. They were lurched into the shadows created by the dim lights emitting from the pumpkins and the blue-white light from the Goblet of Fire. Asia glanced around the Hall and saw many people checking their watches, waiting…

The silence was unnerving for Asia. She felt as if being suffocated.

"Any second," Lee Jordan whispered from George's right.

Everyone was oblivious to the way Asia's hands had begun to get clammy; her forehead became damp with cold sweat; her sight became a little blurry; and her heart beat erratically in her chest as if it would burst any moment.

The blue flames inside the Goblet turned red. Sparks began to emerge from it and suddenly a single jet of flame shot into the air; a scorched piece of parchment quivered out of it, making the entire room gasp.

Professor Dumbledore caught the parchment and held it at arm's length to read it within the light of the flames.

"The champion for Durmstrang," he said in a strong voice that resounded through the walls, "will be Viktor Krum."

"No surprises there!" Ron yelled.

Asia watched as Krum stood up and walked over to the front of the Hall, along the staff table, and vanished through the door behind it.

"Bravo, Viktor!" boomed Professor Karkaroff, over the ringing of all the applause and cheering, "Knew you had it in you!"

A few moments later, the clapping died down and everyone's attention refocused on the goblet. It turned red once again after another few moments, shooting out another burnt piece of parchment, into Professor Dumbledore's extended hand; making Asia feel like her heart would tear open her chest any second.

"The champion for Beauxbatons," Professor Dumbledore said, "is Fleur Delacour!"

"It's her, Ron!"

She heard Harry shout as the girl who Ron said was a veela, got to her feet and gracefully walked up to the staff table, disappearing through the same door Krum had.

Asia could hear Hermione say something about the rest of the Beauxbatons students being disappointed, but she did not pay attention as her blurry eyes tried to focus on the blue flames of the goblet once again turn red; they propelled another piece of parchment into Professor Dumbledore's hand.

The Hogwarts champion next… Cedric Diggory…

"The Hogwarts champion," Asia said it in her head, as Professor Dumbledore called, "is Cedric Diggory!"

"No!" Ron said loudly, but nobody had heard him.

The Hufflepuff table had stood up to cheer for Cedric. Asia shook her head; she did not clap.

They did not know…

She sighed, trying to settle the butterflies in her stomach which had now turned into dragons; trying to control her now slightly erratic breathing. No one noticed her uneven breathes, as they were busy clapping for Cedric Diggory. The Hogwarts Champion. The one who would not be between them by the end of the year…

"Excellent!" Professor Dumbledore said happily, oblivious to the fact that Asia was trying really hard to remove the feeling of trepidation that was becoming more and more evident to her, "Well, we now have our three champions. I am sure I can count upon all of you, including the remaining students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, to give your champions every ounce of support you can muster. By cheering your champion on, you will contribute in a very real —"

_I knew something wrong was supposed to happen!_ She thought as Professor Dumbledore stopped speaking and the Goblet turned red once more, and a fourth piece of parchment flew out of the flames.

There was a long, unpleasant silence, as Professor Dumbledore read the fourth parchment after catching it from the air. He looked up at the Hall and stared for a few moments, before clearing his throat and reading off from the parchment.

Asia clenched her fists tightly under the table and shut her eyes as tightly too. Harry sat beside her…completely oblivious to the raging war inside her head and heart.

_Oh dear, please do not let be what I think it is… Please…_

But it was –

"Harry Potter."

Her eyes shot open as she stared wide eyed at Professor Dumbledore.

_No…_

"No," she whispered, breathlessly.

The entire Hall had turned to look at Harry as he sat, stunned at the sudden turn of events. Asia stared at Professor Dumbledore as Professor McGonagall walked up to him and whispered in his ear.

She felt Harry turn to look at her, Ron, and Hermione.

"I didn't put my name in," he said, "You know I didn't."

Asia turned to look at Ron and Hermione, who just stared back blankly at him. She turned to Harry, her heart beat going at the same pace as it had gone the entirety of dinner.

"I know you did not," she said breathlessly, her voice breaking along with her heart at the stunned and horrified look on his face.

"Harry Potter!" they heard Professor Dumbledore call again, "Harry! Up here, if you please!"

But Harry just stared numbly at Asia, as she did the same through her blurry eyes.

"Go on," Hermione whispered at him.

"Go, Harry," Asia said to him, nodding encouragingly. She squeezed his arm before giving him a slight push.

He got to his feet and stumbled slightly because his feet trod at the hem of robes, and walked slowly up to the staff table. Everyone stared accusingly at him. Asia could hear the slight buzz of whispers, angry whispers, as the gazes of the entire Hall followed him to the front. He walked through the same door as the other champions and then it was as if water had broken-free of a dam, and people started to whisper.

"How did he put his name…?"

"Do you think Dumbledore helped him…?"

"… well, he has been Dumbledore's favourite…"

"He's such an attention-seeker."

"Did someone trick him…?"

"SILENCE!" Everyone went silent after Professor Dumbledore's shout, "I am guessing that you all must be tired after the excitement of the day. I bid you all goodnight. See you all in the morning."

With that everyone stood up and filed out of the Great Hall to head back to their common rooms. Asia, however remained rooted to her spot, staring at the door Harry had disappeared through and now Mr Bagman, Mr Crouch, Professor Dumbledore, Professor Snape, Professor McGonagall, Professor Karkaroff, Madam Maxime and Professor Moody had walked through.

"Asia," she heard Hermione whisper from beside her, "Let's go. Harry will come back to the common room, after all. Come on."

Asia looked numbly at the door and then turned to Hermione. Ron had already left.

_Sure, he does not think that Harry had put his name in there…?_

"Come on, get up," Hermione said again, pulling at Asia's arm.

Asia followed her instructions and stood up. She blinked a few times, trying to clear her eyes of the blurry haze that had formed due to her panic attack.

She and Hermione walked up the marble staircase, hand-in-hand; reassuring each other that everything would be fine. When they reached the portrait hole, behind the tapestry that concealed the entrance to the Gryffindor Tower, Asia stopped.

"You go on, Hermione," she said, "I want to sit out here... wait for him…"

Hermione only nodded before saying the password to the Fat Lady and walking in. Asia sat at the foot of the narrow staircase. She sat debating on what she should do. She wanted so badly to go back to the Great Hall, into the back chamber and demand Professor Dumbledore to stop Harry from participating in the Tournament.

Asia sat there for a very long time before she heard footsteps hurrying up the marble staircase. She stood up and pulled aside the tapestry and walked out of it to see that it was indeed, Harry, walking back to the common room.

"Harry," she called to him, making him snap his head up and stare at the expectant looking Asia, "What...?"

"I didn't put my name in," he repeated what he had said earlier.

"I know," she repeated, "They – they are not… letting you… compete, are they?"

"I have to," he replied miserably, "It's the rules."

She felt as if someone had punched her in the gut. All the breath was knocked out of her. She began shaking her head.

"No," she whispered, "No, no… They cannot do that. No. I – Harry, go inside," her voice shook with emotions, "Write to Sirius first thing in the morning," her breathing became uneven once again, "Just – go to sleep. I… I have to talk to someone."

She began walking down the marble staircase.

"Who?" Harry asked her, his face contorted with concern and confusion.

"The Headmaster," she replied shortly before hurrying down the staircase to the second floor, where Professor Dumbledore's office was located behind the gargoyle statue.

She sprinted down the stairs, trying her best no to trip over her own feet.

_They cannot force him to participate! He is only fourteen!_

She had to get to the Headmaster's office and talk to Mr Crouch and Mr Bagman before they left. They had to listen to her. She could not let Harry participate in those stupid tasks of the stupid Triwizard Tournament. Not only was it dangerous as it was, but she could not let Voldemort get near Harry. She would not let the dreams come true. Not this time; she would do anything to stop the future from happening.

She could feel her lungs burning by the time she reached the gargoyle that led to the Professor Dumbledore's office.

"Please – let me… in…" she panted to the gargoyle, "This is really… really important… Please."

But the gargoyle did not budge. She hit weakly at the gargoyle, with her fists, but it still would not move. She was anxious; she had to get inside somehow.

"Umm…" she started thinking of possible passwords, "Sherbet Lemon?"

Wrong. It did not move.

"Err – Liquorice Wands…?"

Wrong again.

"Oh come on!" she said, throwing her hands in the air in exasperation, "Berty Blotts' Every Flavour Beans! Any—"

The gargoyle moved and revealed the spiral staircase that led to the Headmaster's office door. She was surprised to say the least, momentarily forgetting her desperation. She snapped out of it and rushed up the stairs.

She reached the door and she could hear voices; it was Professors Dumbledore, Moody, and McGonagall and Mr Bagman.

_Is Mr Crouch not here?_

She raised her fist to knock at the door, when suddenly it sprung open on its own.

"Professor Dumbledore," she heard Professor Moody's rough voice, "You have a visitor."

She glanced around and saw Mr Bagman and Professor McGonagall sitting on the chairs opposite Professor Dumbledore at his desk; and Professor Moody stood by the window with his wand pointed at her.

_He must have seen me sprinting to the door with his magical eye,_ she thought.

The other three looked up at the door and from the looks on their faces, were surprised to see her.

"Anastasia," Professor Dumbledore said, "Come in. How did you get past the gargoyle?"

"Umm," she mumbled taking a few hasty steps forward, "I guessed the password."

Professor Dumbledore and Mr Bagman chuckled.

"To what do I owe such a late visit?" Professor Dumbledore asked.

Asia suddenly went on quarrelling mode and stared at him in the eyes.

"Headmaster," she began after taking a deep breath, "You cannot let Harry compete."

Everyone, but Professor Dumbledore, stared at her in surprise, but no one said anything. She took it as a sign to continue.

"He is only fourteen," she continued, her head and hands shaking with desperation to make them understand, "You said so yourself at the beginning of the term that anyone under the age of seventeen cannot compete. Then follow the rules you have made!"

"But, Nastya –"

"– Asia. Call me Asia," she interrupted Mr Bagman.

"– Asia," she continued, "That rule was only created by us –"

"Precisely," she interrupted him again, "You have made a rule. Like every rule that was created by the founders of the Triwizard Tournament, this rule was also made by you. Do not tell me that those who created this stupid Tournament were not from the Ministry of Magic."

"Asia, they were the founders," he continued, "We are only continuing what they had made. Besides, Barty knows the rules like the back of his hand. And according to him if Harry's name had come out of the Goblet, then he has to compete."

"No!" she refused to let them win, "He will _not _compete. All the other champions are at least three years older than him. He has not even learned enough! Professor Dumbledore," she turned anxiously to the Headmaster who had been watching silently from his seat, "Please. Stop this madness before something horrible happens that we would all regret in the future. Please…" her voice dropped to a whisper as her scared and worried eyes met his equally concerned eyes.

"The contract," he began quietly, "has been bound. It cannot be broken, Anastasia."

Her heart smashed to smithereens.

Not only did his words, but the sadness and helplessness they held resulted in her hopes to break piece by piece.

"The rule about no one entering below the age of seventeen was created as an extra precaution to prevent any extreme casualties," Professor Dumbledore continued, "It was not the part of the original rules created by the founders of the Triwizard Tournament. There is no backing out now. Harry will have to compete and there is nothing you – or anyone else, for that matter – can do about it."

But Asia was not giving up. Not yet, at least.

She cleared her face of any emotions, took a deep breath.

"Fine," she said in a clipped tone with a stiff nod, "If that is your decision. But hear this Headmaster; I will _not_ let Harry walk down an arena, risking his life, because of some senseless rules regarding an as imprudent tournament," she said with utter determination, standing tall and her brown eyes visibly flashing, "I will die before I let him."

There was a pregnant pause in the office. No one said a word, too shocked at her words. Even the portraits had gone silent and were staring at her as if she had claimed that rocks could breathe.

"Goodnight to all of you," Asia said one last time before leaving her Professors and Mr Bagman staring after her in the ringing of the echoes of a slamming door behind her.


	18. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16: Support and Comfort**

Asia did not sleep a blink that night. She had no idea what to do with herself.

Too many thoughts… too much fear…

She tossed and turned in her bed. Not a single position comfortable. The anxiety in her heart was so intense that even the Hogwarts bed was not comfortable to her anymore. She suddenly wished she was back in her closet at the Malfoy Manor. At least the discomfort and stiffness of her bed there kept her preoccupied enough to not to think about anything else.

Hermione and Ginny, both, were fast asleep when she had entered the dormitory in anger a couple hours ago. There were students in the common room who wanted to celebrate the fact that Harry had been chosen.

_Celebrate, my foot._ She thought angrily.

But it was not their fault; none of them knew what was in store for the champions.

_What can I do? I have to stop Harry from taking part in any of the tasks… But, how…? I have to do something… Should I write to Sirius? No, Harry would do it tomorrow; I asked him to do so._

She kept thinking as the clouds parted to give way to the moon and its pale light streamed in through the window near her bed. Not having the resolve to go to sleep anymore, she slipped out of her bed and walked over to the window to sit in the window sill. She watched the pale moon and suddenly a thought struck her.

_Should I write to Remus…? Maybe he can tell me what to do…_

But she wiped the thought away as soon as it came.

_No, I will have to tell him about my dreams if I did. He will ask me why I want to stop Harry from competing… He will think I do not trust Harry's ability to take care of himself…_

She did not want to mention her dreams to anyone. No one should know. But she had to stop Harry from taking part in any of the tasks. This was Voldemort's plan…

_I cannot tell Remus how I know about Voldemort having a plan… No. Not Remus._

Hours went by as Asia sat at the window sill, awake, thinking about different things she could do to stop the future from happening…

The next thing she knew, the sun had begun to show its bright rays from the horizon. It was the same sunrise as yesterday. But it never ceased to amaze her. She felt her body ache because of staying seated at the sill for the entire night, but ignoring the pain like always she stood up and walked to her trunk to pull out something to wear. She chose a grey dress today; as gloomy as her mood, and walked to the bathroom to take a much needed bath.

Breakfast would not be ready for another hour or two and she had some time to think of a way to get Harry away from all this madness before breakfast. Making up her mind, she headed up to the Astronomy Tower.

_I could hex him really bad… or break a bone… or maybe… hide him away when the time for the tasks arrives…_

She kept coming up with such irrational ideas that would either end up hurting Harry, or causing her to be in trouble with Professor Dumbledore and possibly the Ministry of Magic. She stood at the top of the Astronomy Tower and stared at the Black Lake and the Durmstrang ship anchored ashore. A headache was forming; she could feel the slight pulse of pain at the end of her spine. Her thoughts clouded her pain and she did not pay it any special attention; just thinking of how she could stop…how she could prevent Harry's life from going even more frenzied than it already was.

She kept thinking…

_I keep doing that a lot lately…_ she thought ruefully.

An hour and a half later found Asia sitting in the Great Hall, waiting for any one of Harry, Ron, or Hermione to show up. It was a Sunday, so there were naturally no classes and they had the entire day to do something with themselves. She had finished her breakfast a few minutes ago and she now kept glancing at the doors for Ron or Hermione. She knew Harry would be least likely to come down to the Great Hall, with what happened last night.

A few minutes later, Ron came in looking like a brooding Victor Krum. She was not sure whether the expression was because he had stayed up with Harry last night trying to think a way out of this or because of the other reason she did not want to think about.

"Morning, Ron," she said to him as he sat opposite her.

"Morning," he grumbled in reply, while helping himself to some toast.

Something was definitely not right with him; she could sense it.

"What is it, Ron?" she asked him, "Are you worried for Harry –?"

"Worried for that backstabber?" he gave a derisive laugh, "Nope. Never, Asia."

She stared at him in astonishment as she felt Hermione slide into the seat next to her.

"What do you mean – _backstabber_?" she asked him, not believing her ears.

"He always wants attention, that attention seeking –"

"Stop right there, Ronald," she threatened him, "I already knew you were stupid. But I am really surprised to find out that not only stupid, you are even an idiot! That supposed _backstabber_ is your best friend. And best friends are supposed to trust each other. You really think he would –"

"Shut up, Asia," Ron interrupted her angrily, going red, "Why don't you leave me alone and go run to your hero? You always gave him more attention and showed more concern toward him than any of us, anyway. I shouldn't be surprised, really, that you believe him and –"

Asia slapped him on the face, stopping him from saying any more offensive words regarding her and Harry. She was as shocked as everybody else, who were now staring at them. She had never in her life raised her hand to harm anyone; not even a fly. The slap came as a surprise, not only to Ron and Hermione, but her as well. But she did not show her surprise, just her anger, as she picked up some toast and wrapped them in a napkin before standing up.

"I expected better from you, Ronald," she spat at him before walking out of the Hall, up the marble staircase to bring Harry his breakfast.

She had thought that Hermione must have stayed behind with Ron, but she came running to her and walked beside her to the Fat Lady's portrait.

"I'm sorry about what he said, Asia," she whispered to her.

"You have nothing to be sorry about, Hermione," Asia replied, "Do you believe Harry or –"

"Of course I believe him," Hermione interrupted, surprised, "How would you even think that I wouldn't?"

"Sorry," Asia said as they came to a stop in front of the portrait hole, "Ron did not set a good example –"

"Ron's being an idiot, as you said," she replied, "And the slap was a really good one, Asia." Hermione giggled, making Asia chuckle.

"I was as shocked as Ron about it really."

"I guessed as much."

"Listen," Asia said all of a sudden, "Here," she handed Hermione the toast, "Give this to Harry; he would not want to go down to the Great Hall after last night. I have to go to the library –"

"Asia, it's a Sunday. Please, not today," Hermione requested.

"I really have to, Hermione. I need to look up the Triwizard rules and etcetera; to find a loop hole to get Harry out of this. Please."

Hermione reluctantly nodded.

"And please persuade Harry to write to Padfoot," she added as she started to make her way down the staircase, "Alright?"

"Okay, I will," Hermione replied with a nod.

"See you later, then."

"See ya," she heard Hermione reply.

Asia reached the library in a few minutes and soon realized that she did not bring her bag with her, which contained her quill, ink and parchment sheath. Using her newly perfected Summoning Charm, she summoned her bag and then began the long process of researching.

Hours.

She spent hours holed up in the library; reading and writing doing what not. She felt frustrated by lunch time.

Nothing.

Not a single gap in the rules and regulations regarding the selection of champions that could help her get Harry out of this mess. She knew Harry had already accepted that he would compete, but she could not let go of that last beam of hope that kept her slightly sane.

Asia did not go down for lunch or dinner. Madam Pince had come up to her and ad asked her to leave a few times, but she did not listen, denying the fact that she was hungry or tired. Finally, a couple of hours after dinner-time had passed; Madam Pince basically threw her out of the library, threatening to hex her if she did not eat anything before going to bed.

To say that she was disappointed that she had found nothing that could help her cause, was an understatement. She was absolutely devastated that nothing in the whole library held anything of particular significance or something that could help her out. She had notes on a thick sheath of parchment, and her quill feather was already worn out.

Begrudgingly, she trudged back to the Gryffindor Tower and went straight to bed, not paying attention to anyone or anything around her; like an Inferius. She had classes tomorrow and she had to wake up early too. If she could not sleep, she would go down to Madam Pomfrey for some Dreamless Sleep Potion, but she had to sleep. She did not want to faint in the middle of Care of Magical Creatures of Herbology. She was, however, sure that Divination would be a more understandable class in which she would faint or fall asleep.

The next morning, she woke up feeling a little refreshed. Strangely enough, she did not have any dreams last night. It happened once in a blue moon, that she would sleep a dreamless sleep, and she would not have been any more grateful for the fact that the dreams chose last night to postpone a visit. She had needed the sleep, a peaceful sleep, and she had gotten it.

She stayed beside Harry the entire day. He told her exactly what had happened in the chamber after the teachers had come in, about the letter he had sent to Sirius yesterday, and all that Hermione had told him. He had found out about the incident in the Great Hall at breakfast yesterday, about Asia slapping Ron, and Harry appreciated her support and said that he had wanted to do that to him since the night he was announced to be the fourth champion. Harry and Asia kept each other's minds off the Tournament for the small amount of time they had spent together.

Hermione kept commuting between Harry and Ron. She wanted to make sure that after Asia's slap, there was at least someone who could keep some communication between the two equally stubborn boys. Asia was aware of Hermione's annoyance over the fact that she was acting as an owl, travelling back and forth between Harry and Ron, trying to get them to see sense; neither, however, budged. Harry did not want to go after Ron, knowing he was on the wrong, and Ron was not willing to believe that Harry did not put his name in the goblet.

The day passed, in constant tension and going through the social shunting of the Gryffindor House by the other three Houses. Professor Sprout acted a little hostile toward Harry, the reason being obvious that he had apparently stolen the remote glory Hufflepuff had come to gain through Cedric. Hagrid told Harry that he believed him, and that he would always believe him; this caused a little elation in Harry, Asia and Hermione's sprit. Though, for Asia and Harry their slightly elated spirit was soon deflated when Professor Trelawney began predicting Harry's death even more fervently.

Whenever Ron would come in front of her, Asia would simply glare at him and watch as he would glance at her, and look away with red ears; the slap had hit his pride harder than his cheek.

"Anya," Harry said, when they were completing their antidote recipes in the library; Hermione was doing her Arithmancy calculations.

She looked up, "Yes?"

"Padfoot asked me to tell you to keep doing what you do," he said, "What is it that you do?"

Hermione too looked up from her Arithmancy homework and stared curiously at Asia.

"Err," she thought of saying something other than the truth.

"The truth, Anya," Harry said sternly.

_How did he know I was about to lie?_ She thought.

"To –," she hesitated, "To look out for you," she mumbled before burying her red face into the book she was reading.

Asia was too busy hiding her blush to notice the look full of adoration Harry had looked at her with on hearing her words, before he too turned back to writing his antidote recipe. A few moments later, Asia looked up, through her lashes, at Harry and smiled before going back to work silently.

Neither of them, however, noticed the knowing expression on Hermione's face as she watched two of her best friends slowly and unknowingly, but surely, falling in love.

None of them spoke after that, till they decided that it was time to head back to the Gryffindor Tower and call it a night for today.

That night Asia did have a dream, but it was different. She could not see anything but black.

Black everywhere; only voices.

One voice stood distinct. She heard a rough voice; familiar rough voice.

_But who is it?_

The voice was a distant whisper, but she heard it as if someone was speaking it straight into her ear.

"Who put your name in the Goblet of Fire, under the name of a different school? I did…"

_What?_ She felt horrified. They were talking to Harry.

"Who frightened off every person I thought … you or prevent you from … the tournament? I did…"

_What do you mean? Oh, I cannot hear them properly!_

"Who … showing you … dragons? I did…"

_Dragons…!_

The voice was fading. She knew she was about to wake up.

_No! Who are you? Say your name, you fraud!_

Then she woke up to the rays of the bright sun streaming in through the windows in her dormitory.

_If only I could have seen the face!_ She thought in frustration.

Whose voice was it? It sounded so familiar. She was sure she had heard the voice somewhere but she could never be too sure with her dreams.

She got up and dressed in a daze, thinking about the voice and where she might have heard it. But she came up with nothing. Breakfast went as usual; her sitting alone and trying to read a book with the thoughts of possible owners of the voice while waiting for Hermione and Harry to come down.

The entire week went the same for her and the rest of the Gryffindors. All other Houses gave them the cold shoulder and they were even more hostile and cold toward Harry. While the entire school (except a few Professors, Hagrid, Asia, and Hermione) believed that Harry had put his name in the goblet, only the Gryffindors seemed to be impressed with him. The Slytherins needed nothing better to taunt and tease Harry about; the Hufflepuffs had an obvious reason; and the Ravenclaws believed that he had cheated.

Asia had expected the Headmaster to call her for a talk after the incident Saturday night, but she had yet to receive an invitation to the Headmaster's office. The unexpected lack of action against her outburst made her suspicious that maybe the judges would be reconsidering Harry's role as a champion, but she ignored the thought as soon as it had come.

Moreover, Hermione had great difficulty in holding Asia back whenever a Slytherin mocked Harry regarding the Tournament for the next few days. She had started to become aggressive due to the lack of sleep and due to the extensive stress to get Harry out of the Tournament. She felt that she was at the brink of breaking with all the pressure from all sides; whether it was from studies, teachers, the bullying from the Slytherins, or the Tournament. Asia had kept it together for the entire week, and she was looking for something or someone to pour all her frustration and anger at.

That Friday, she finally found something, or rather, someone to vent her anger on.

It was after lunch, and Harry, Hermione and Asia were making their way to the, much dreaded, double Potions. When they had reached the dungeon classroom, the Slytherins were already waiting outside. It would have been nothing unusual, if it was not for a large badge on each and every one of their robes.

She looked carefully at the one Draco was wearing and saw that they had bright, red letters forming 'SUPPORT CEDRIC DIGGORY – THE REAL HOGWARTS CHAMPION!'

Asia felt her blood boil once more in the countless times it already had in the entire week.

"Like them, Potter?" Draco said when he spotted the three of them approaching, "And this isn't all they do - look!"

He pressed his badge and the message disappeared and was replaced by 'POTTER STINKS!' All the Slytherins laughed loudly, pressing their own badges to display, 'POTTER STINKS!'

Asia glanced at a red Harry before turning to Draco and rolling her eyes, "Oh very funny, Draco."

"Really witty," Hermione added as she stared at Pansy Parkinson and the rest of Annika's posse who were laughing harder than necessary.

She saw Ron standing next to Dean and Seamus, not doing anything… just watching.

_Some friend…_ she thought sarcastically.

"Want one, Nasty?" Draco asked her, holding out one toward her. Asia simply glared at him and looked away, so he turned to Hermione, "You, Granger? But don't touch my hand, no. I've just washed it, you see; don't want a Mudblood sliming it up."

That was all it took for Harry and Asia to draw out their wands and point them at Draco.

"Harry. Asia!" Hermione said warningly.

"Go on, then, Potter," Draco said quietly, drawing out his own wand. "Moody's not here to look after you now. And I dare you, Nastya, Father will find out soon even if you do find the guts to do anything."

Then the three of them yelled spells at the same time.

"Melofors!" yelled Asia.

"Funnunculus!" shouted Harry.

"Densaugeo!" screamed Draco.

Next thing they know, there are jets of light flying from the three wands; hitting each other right in the middle and then rebounding off into different angles.

Asia's and Harry's spells, both, hit Goyle at the same time, while Draco's spell hit Hermione. Asia glanced at Goyle, whose head was now inside a huge pumpkin and he was howling in pain and fright, and then turned to Hermione. Ashe was whimpering in panic, was clutching her mouth.

"Hermione!" she heard Ron shout as he hurried forward to check what was wrong with her.

He forced her hands away from her mouth and saw that her two front teeth were growing at an alarming rate. They passed her bottom lip and extended toward her chin. She shrieked as she felt them.

"And what is all this noise about?" said a voice from behind them.

Asia glanced and saw that Professor Snape had arrived and he was looking at them with his cold eyes curiously. She paid him no specific heed and walked toward Hermione and held her by putting her arm around her shoulders as she whimpered.

"Explain," she heard him say.

"Potter and my sister attacked me, sir -" Draco began his supposed honest explanation.

"He attacked us at the same time!" Harry shouted.

"- and they hit Goyle - look -"

Asia turned to look at Goyle who was feeling his now-pumpkin head with panic.

"Hospital wing, Goyle," Professor Snape said monotonously.

"Malfoy got Hermione!" Ron said shouted, "Look!"

Asia pulled Hermione's hands away from her mouth, forcing her to show Professor Snape her still-growing teeth. She looked back at Professor Snape and behind him she saw Pansy and the other Slytherin girls pointing and giggling while pointing at Hermione. Asia did her best not to glare at them; she was too concerned about Hermione at the moment.

Professor Snape looked indifferently at Hermione and said, "I see no difference."

Her eyes widened in disbelief as Hermione's eyes filled with tears and she ran up the corridor and disappeared from their sight.

Asia's anger knew no bounds at that moment; she turned furiously to the unjust teacher and gave him the coldest glare she could muster.

"You know what?" she spat at him in a low voice, "I could pour a cauldron full of grease over your head and say the same to you after a few minutes of observation, '_I see no difference'_!" She imitated his voice while saying the last four words.

Asia seemed to have surprised everyone in the hallway, as she had never stood up against Professor Snape despite his usual unfair treatment. She was surprised too, but then again, she had been bottling up her anger over the whole Tournament fiasco for quite some time now, anyway.

"Let's see," Professor Snape said in his cold voice, after he had recovered from his surprise, "Sixty points from Gryffindor and a detention each for Potter, Weasley, and Ms Malfoy. Now get inside, or it'll be a week's worth of detentions."

Asia glared at him once more before pacing into the dungeon classroom, followed by the rest of the class. She was livid and what Ron did next, did not do anything to help her anger any more. Asia's usual seat was next to Dean and Seamus, and she was surprised despite her anger when she saw Ron taking her seat at their table. She shook her head in annoyance at him, and made sure that he saw her disappointment, before taking a seat next to Harry and dumping her bag at her feet with more force than necessary, making a few students around her jump.

Draco turned around in his seat, turning his back to Professor Snape, and pressed his badge once again making the words 'POTTER STINKS!' flash brightly, with a huge smirk. Asia glared at him with all the hatred she could muster, which wiped the smirk off his face and he turned back around, facing the front, without a word.

She glanced at Harry and saw him glaring at Professor Snape evilly. She could practically see the wheels turning in his head; he was thinking of ways to harm the teacher. She chuckled internally and turned to face the front, ready for yet another horrible Potions lesson.

"Antidotes!" Professor Snape said, looking around the lot of them coldly, "You should all have prepared your recipes now. I want you to brew them carefully, and then, we will be selecting someone on whom to test one…"

Asia watched as his cold gaze landed on Harry and she instantly knew that he was going to test the antidotes on Harry. She looked at Harry in concern when the dungeon door was pushed open and a beaming Colin Creevey entered the room.

He glanced happily at Harry and Asia before walking up to Professor Snape's desk at the front.

"Yes?" Professor Snape asked, curtly.

Colin's smile was wiped off his face as he went timid and said, "Please, sir, I'm supposed to take Harry Potter and Asia Malfoy upstairs."

Professor Snape gave Colin an unpleasant look and said, "Potter and Malfoy have another hour of Potions to complete. They will come upstairs when this class is finished."

Colin went pink.

"Sir - sir, Mr Bagman wants Harry Potter," he said nervously. "All the champions have got to go; I think they want to take photographs…"

Asia winced when she heard Colin say that. Professor Snape already hated Harry enough because of his popularity as The-Boy-Who-Lived; he did not need any more reason to give him a harsher treatment.

"Very well, very well," Professor Snape said sharply, "Potter, leave your things here, I want you back down here later to test your antidote."

"Please, sir – Professor Dumbledore needs Asia too, and they both have to take their things with them," Colin squeaked, "All the champions…"

"Very well!" Professor Snape snapped, "Potter – Malfoy - take your things and get out of my sight!"

Asia did not need to be informed the reason she was being called by the Headmaster; she had been expecting the call any minute. And she also did not need to be told twice to leave the horrid dungeons.

So she looked up at Professor Snape and gave him a sarcastic smile, "Gladly," she said before dropping the smile and giving him another glare.

She swung her bag over her shoulder and grabbed Harry's arm before dragging him with her out the classroom door, trying her best to ignore the POTTER STINKS flashed at them as they walked past the Slytherins tables.

"It's amazing, isn't it, Harry?" Colin said, returning to his eager-self as soon as the door closed behind them, "Isn't it, though? You being champion?"

"Yeah, really amazing," Harry said, sarcasm dripping from his voice, "What do they want photos for, Colin?"

"The Daily Prophet, I think!"

"Great," Harry said unenthusiastically, "Exactly what I need. More publicity."

"What do they need me for, Colin?" she asked after she had cooled down as they reached the entrance hall.

"No idea, really," Colin replied, cheerily, "Professor Dumbledore said Harry would need you with him."

Asia raised her eyebrow at that, confused at why Harry would need her. She looked up at Harry who was walking on Colin's other side and they book exchanged a confused glance before walking ahead.

"Good luck!" Colin said as he stopped outside a door, Harry and Asia following suit.

She smiled at him as he walked back from where he had come and followed Harry who had already opened the door after knocking.

They entered the small classroom and saw Mr Bagman sitting in one of the five chairs behind a few tables covered in velvet. He was talking to a lady dressed in magenta robes; Asia found her vaguely familiar. Victor Krum stood in a corner, brooding as usual, and Cedric and Fleur stood near him in conversation. Another plump looking man stood a few feet away from them holding a large black camera, throwing curious looks at Fleur from the corner of his eyes.

"Ah, here he is! Champion number four!" boomed Mr Bagman, as soon as he spotted Harry, "In you come, Harry, in you come…" He then spotted Asia standing behind him, "Ah, Ms Asia! You too…of course, Dumbledore said Harry would want you here… nothing to worry about, it's just the wand weighing ceremony, the rest of the judges will be here in a moment -"

"Wand weighing?" Asia asked sceptically.

She was wary of Mr Bagman after what Fred and George had told her about him. Besides, he was way too excited about Harry being in the Tournament, she was not going to go easy on him.

"We have to check that the champions' wands are fully functional, no problems, you know, as they're their most important tools in the tasks ahead," Mr Bagman answered, "The expert's upstairs now with Dumbledore. And then there's going to be a little photo-shoot. This is Rita Skeeter," he added, waving a hand toward the familiar looking witch.

_I knew I recognized her from somewhere!_ Asia thought contemptuously.

She was not a fan of either of these two people standing in front of her and she was sure they both would cause trouble for them in the near-future.

"She's doing a small piece on the tournament for the Daily Prophet…" Mr Bagman continued.

"Maybe not that small, Ludo," Rita Skeeter said, eyeing Harry as if he was a piece of meat to devour.

_Right,_ Asia thought, _I am pretty sure you want some dirt on him now…_

"I wonder if I could have a little word with Harry before we start?" she asked Mr Bagman, still staring at Harry, "The youngest champion, you know… to add a bit of colour?"

_Oh no, you do not!_

"Certainly!" Mr Bagman cried, "That is - if Harry has no objection?"

"Err -" said Harry.

"No!" Asia said wildly.

Everyone, including the photographer and the other three champions stared at her weirdly, "I mean – Professor Dumbledore would be back soon… You would not want him to be angry that you are delaying the wand-weighing, would you?"

She was looking at Mr Bagman, but she was sure Rita Skeeter was looking at her slyly.

"Oh, it wouldn't be that long, dear," she said to her and grabbed Harry by the arm and steered him out of the room ignoring Asia's "But – wait! No –Harry, do not!"

But it was already too late. Rita Skeeter had already dragged Harry out of the room, and there was nothing she could do to stop her from writing some rubbish about him in the Daily Prophet anymore.

"Oh, it's perfectly fine, Asia," said Mr Bagman, apparently delighted that Harry was getting an interview taken, "It's just an interview –"

He did not get to say anything else as Asia had given him a very nasty look; that had him shut up instantly. Mr Bagman then walked away from her and started a conversation with Fleur.

"You seem way too concerned about Potter," someone said from behind her as she stared anxiously at the door, waiting for Harry or Professor Dumbledore to enter.

She turned and saw that it was Cedric. He was smirking at her knowingly.

"What do you mean, Ced?" she asked him with a smile, using the nickname she had given him around two years ago.

"What I mean, Asia, is that he can take care of himself; we all know that," he replied.

"Not where Rita Skeeter is concerned, he cannot," she answered gravely.

He grinned at her and looked up at something behind her. She followed his gaze and saw that it was not something, but rather someone who had come up to them.

Victor Krum.

"Hello," Asia said to him with a smile.

"Hello," he replied with a small smile of his own.

She glanced at Cedric and saw that he was surprised that Krum was finally speaking.

"I remember you," Krum said to her, surprising her, "From the Vorld Cup."

"Oh?" was her smart reply. She had not expected him to remember, "Umm… That is… nice."

She momentarily forgot that Harry was in Rita Skeeter's hostage; but only for a moment as Professor Dumbledore had come in with the other Headmasters and Mr Ollivander, who she guessed would be checking the wands.

"Excuse me, please," she said to Krum and Cedric before hastily walking over to Professor Dumbledore.

"Headmaster," she said, anxiously, surprising Professor Karkaroff and Madam Maxime that someone other than the four champions was here.

"Yes, Anastasia?" Professor Dumbledore asked her calmly, probably remembering their last conversation.

"Rita Skeeter – Harry –"

That was all it took for him to understand the current predicament and he immediately interrupted her, "Where?"

His voice was still calm as ever, but he had become more alert and even seemed a little angry.

"No idea. She just dragged him out –"

Professor Dumbledore immediately walked back the way he had come and left the room to look for Harry. She glanced around and saw Mr Ollivander standing near her so she gave him a weak smile.

"Hello, Ms Anastasia," he said in his same creepy voice. She suddenly remembered her last encounter with the wand maker, in his shop at Diagon Alley four years ago.

"Hello, Mr Ollivander," she said, smiling politely back, "Please call me Asia. How are you, by the way?"

"I am very well, my young lady. How are you?"

"Same here, Mr Ollivander, Sir," she replied.

They did not get the chance to continue their conversation, as Professor Dumbledore had returned with Harry and Rita Skeeter. She visibly sighed in relief at seeing him back from the clutches of the nasty woman. He smiled weakly at her before taking his seat next to Cedric. She was a little surprised to see that the judges had seated themselves in the five chairs behind the velvet covered tables and the champions were also sitting in the four chairs next to the door.

She followed Rita Skeeter with her eyes as she walked over to a corner and settled herself with a parchment and a quill on her lap.

"May I introduce Mr Ollivander?" Professor Dumbledore said while taking his seat at the judges' table, "He will be checking your wands to ensure that they are in good condition before the tournament."

_I am not letting Harry take part in any tournament…_ she thought stubbornly.

"Mademoiselle Delacour, could we have you first, please?" Mr Ollivander said as he walked away from Asia and stood in the middle of the empty space in the room.

Fleur Delacour stood up gracefully and walked up to Mr Ollivander, before handing him her wand.

"Hmm…" he said, twirling the wand in his long and thin fingers making the wand emit pink and gold sparks, "Yes," he said quietly, "nine and a half inches… inflexible… rosewood… and containing… dear me…"

"An 'air from ze 'ead of a veela," Fleur said, "One of my grandmuzzer's."

_She is a part veela,_ Asia thought catching Harry's eye, _Ron was right, after all…_

"Yes," Mr Ollivander said, returning Asia's gaze to him, "Yes, I've never used veela hair myself, of course. I find it makes for rather temperamental wands… however, to each his own, and if this suits you…"

He muttered, "Orchideous!" and a bunch of flowers burst from the wand tip.

"Very well, very well, it's in fine working order," Mr Ollivander said, handing the flowers to Fleur including her wand before saying, "Mr Diggory, you next."

Fleur walked back to her seat and Cedric walked up to Mr Ollivander.

"Ah, now, this is one of mine, isn't it?" Mr Ollivander said more enthusiastically than when he did while checking Fleur's wand, as Cedric handed him his wand, "Yes, I remember it well. Containing a single hair from the tail of a particularly fine male unicorn… must have been seventeen hands; nearly gored me with his horn after I plucked his tail. Twelve and a quarter inches… ash… pleasantly springy. It's in fine condition… You treat it regularly?"

"Polished it last night," Cedric replied while sending a grin Asia's way.

Just as she smiled a small one back at him, she saw a few sparks coming from Harry's place. She glanced here just in time to see Fleur sending him a condescending look and Harry stopped rubbing his wand. Asia raised her eyebrows at Fleur when Harry caught her eye and rolled his very surreptitiously. She pursed her lips to avoid a smile from breaking over her face and turned back to Mr Ollivander who was now examining Krum's wand.

"Hmm," Mr Ollivander said, "this is a Gregorovitch creation, unless I'm much mistaken? A fine wand-maker, though the styling is never quite what I… however…"

"Yes… hornbeam and dragon heartstring?" he asked Krum after a few moments, who nodded, "Rather thicker than one usually sees… quite rigid… ten and a quarter inches… Avis!"

A blast sounded from the wand and a few small birds tweeted out of the tip of the wand and out of the window.

"Good," Mr Ollivander said returning the wand to Krum and turning to Harry, "Which leaves… Mr Potter."

Asia watched as Harry stood up and walked over to Mr Ollivander and handed hi wand over.

"Aaaah, yes," Mr Ollivander spoke quietly, but his voice held the passion and interest that was not present when he had been checking the other three wands, "Yes, yes, yes. How well I remember."

Harry's wand took more time at being examined than the other three. She watched with narrow eyes as Mr Ollivander stared at the wand, examining it from every angle, feeling it from every inch and then, finally, making a fountain of wine shoot out of it before handing it to Harry, saying that it was in perfect condition.

Before Professor Dumbledore could announce the end of the ceremony, Mr Ollivander turned to Asia and extended his thin hand toward her, "Would you like your wand weighed, Ms Malfoy?"

Asia furrowed her eyebrows in confusion; she knew he had said it like a question, but it was not meant as one. He was demanding her to hand over her wand so that he could examine it. She glanced at Professor Dumbledore first, who nodded his head in approval; then at Harry who sent her a reassuring smile, making her step forward hesitantly and draw out her wand to give it to Mr Ollivander.

_Why does he want to check my wand?_ She thought perplexedly.

She looked around and saw that everyone, but Professor Dumbledore, was as confused over Mr Ollivander's request as her.

He twirled the wand in his fingers, making it emit the same red and gold lighted waves as it had when Asia had held it for the first time, four years ago.

"Yes…" he said in a whisper that was, surprisingly audible to everyone in the room, "Willow and phoenix feather… lithe…" he glanced at Asia and smiled knowingly before saying, "Fifteen inches."

He pointed the wand at Harry and gave it an odd looking wave before muttering something inaudible, making Asia widen her eyes. Asia felt a rush of warm air blow at her making her flinch at the sudden gust, but, surprisingly, nothing happened to Harry.

"What was that?" Asia asked him.

_He pointed the wand at Harry, but why did I feel the warm air, and nothing happened him?_ She thought, _Well, at least visibly, nothing happened…_

Mr Ollivander only smiled and handed her wand back to her, before turning to Professor Dumbledore who was the only other person who supposedly knew what had happened.

"Thank you all," Professor Dumbledore said, as he stood up from the judges' table, "You may go back to your lessons now - or perhaps it would be quicker just to go down to dinner, as they are about to end-"

Asia was about to follow the champions when the man with the camera suddenly stood up and cleared his throat.

"Photos, Dumbledore, photos!" Mr Bagman cried excitedly, "All the judges and champions, what do you think, Rita?"

"Err - yes, let's do those first," Rita Skeeter replied placing her gaze back on Harry, "And then perhaps some individual shots."

It was already dinner time when the photographs were over. Asia did not miss the way Rita Skeeter wanted Harry right in the front next to her and all the others behind. Asia was not included in any of the photographs till Rita Skeeter dragged her in too, saying she needed a photograph showing the support Harry was getting from his friends.

Rita Skeeter forced the two of them together in almost every photograph near the end, much to Asia's chagrin; she did not want Father seeing her photograph on the _Prophet_ and then inflicting pain on her when she would return to the Manor for next summer. However, no one stopped her from getting the photographs, not even when Asia protested.

At last, they were free to go. However, she was called back by Professor Dumbledore when she was about to leave with Harry.

"Anastasia," he called making Asia and Harry turn around, "I would like a word with you after you have your dinner."

She glanced at Harry and then nodded a 'yes' to Professor Dumbledore who smiled and said, "Meet me in my office after you are done with dinner. I am sure you are aware of the password?"

"Yes, Headmaster," she replied with a small smile and walked out with Harry by her side.

They sat at the Gryffindor table, in a corner, avoiding conversation with anyone else. Hermione had still not returned from the Hospital Wing and they both were anxious to know if her teeth had returned to normal. Trying to ignore the 'POTTER STINKS!' badges, the pair had a silent dinner before it was time for Asia to go to the Headmaster's office.

"I will see you in the morning, then?" Asia asked him as they began climbing the marble staircase; Asia to the Headmaster's office and Harry to the Gryffindor Tower.

"Yeah," he replied, "Good luck."

"Thank you, Harry," she smiled as they came to a stop at the second floor landing, "Good night."

They both smiled one last time at each other before they turned around and walked to their respective destinations. Asia reached the gargoyle in a few moments and said the password before entering and climbing up the spiral staircase.

"Enter," she heard Professor Dumbledore's voice say from the other side as she knocked at the door.

She pushed open the door and entered the office for the second time in the week. Professor Dumbledore was not behind his desk as she had expected, but he stood facing the window near it, his back to her.

"Good evening, Anastasia," he said, "Please take a seat."

Asia followed his instructions and sat on one of the chairs in front of his desk.

"I am aware of your research nowadays," he said calmly, "Care to tell me about it?"

Asia knew it was an order, not a request.

"Which one?" she asked, "The one about antidotes for Potions, the Summoning Charm for Charms, or the one about the Solar and Lunar eclipses for Astronomy?"

He turned around and looked at her with an amused smile on his lips and a twinkle in his green eyes behind the half-moon spectacles.

"None of those," he replied as he walked over to his seat behind the desk, "You know exactly which one I am asking you about, Anastasia."

She smiled sheepishly, "I will answer you under one condition," she bargained.

"What condition?" he Professor Dumbledore asked her with yet another amused smile.

"Please call me Asia," she said with an innocent tilt of her head and an expectant look in her eyes.

Professor Dumbledore only chuckled and nodded his head. She took it as a yes and also an encouragement to answer the question he had asked, so she took a deep breath and did so.

"I have been trying look up any ambiguity I could find in the rules and regulations of the Triwizard Tournament that could help me get Harry out of it," she said in a single breath.

"And why do you want Harry out of the tournament, Asia?" he asked her, making her smile at his usage of her nickname.

"Is it not obvious, Headmaster?" she said with a shake of her head, "It is way too dangerous."

"Asia, you and I, both know how much Harry is capable of taking care of himself, even in the most dangerous of situations," Professor Dumbledore said, "And you will have to trust my judgement when I say that I have revised the tasks multiple times since Saturday evening to reassure myself that both, Mr Diggory and Harry, will be in no mortal threat. Can you do that?"

"I trust your judgement, Sir," she said with a nod.

"Then will it be safe to say that you will stop overlooking your bodily needs, like sleep and food, and just try your best to support Harry in every way?"

"Yes, Sir," she sighed.

_Should I ask him?_

"What is on your mind, Asia?" Professor Dumbledore asked, apparently having sensed her indecision.

"Headmaster…" she hesitated.

"What is it, Anastasia?" he asked her gently.

"What would you do" she began after taking in a lungful of air, "if you knew what is about to happen…something really bad… but you want to stop it from happening?"

The Headmaster stared at her through his half-moon spectacles with a deep, thoughtful expression.

"I would try my best to stop it, of course," he replied softly.

"What if you cannot because of circumstances?" she asked him cautiously, scared to reveal more than she wanted to.

"There are things that are bound to happen, Asia," he said, "They are inevitable. No matter what you do, they will happen sooner or later."

"Even if it means death?" she questioned.

"Especially if it means death," he answered.

Asia stood up, not able to look into his eyes anymore; they were so intense, it was hard. She walked over to the window and stared out into the dark night.

"You would blame yourself," she said so quietly, she was surprised Professor Dumbledore had heard her.

"Not if you know that you had tried all you could to stop it," he responded.

"That is not enough to get rid of the guilt, I think," she said, smiling ruefully into the night.

"It is more than enough if it is someone else who would say it to you."

"And if there is no one?"

"There is always someone," he said, "All you need to do is, share."

She furrowed her eyebrows and turned to the Headmaster who was staring at her as if trying to understand her, "Share, what?"

"Share what you feel," he answered softly, "What you think, what you want and need. Share everything."

Asia stared at the portrait of one of the old Headmasters, thinking.

"And that will be enough?" she finally asked after a few moments.

"As I said," Professor Dumbledore said with another smile, "More than enough."

She nodded and turned back to watch the dark grounds and the Black Lake in which the Durmstrang ship stood afloat, looking as eerie as ever. A few moments passed in silence before she turned back to the Headmaster with a smile.

"Sirius is back," she said to him.

"Ah, yes," he said nodding, as his eyes turned back to her from watching the cloudy sky, "I am fully aware that Sirius Black is back. I had received a letter a couple of days ago. He informed me that he was extremely worried for you," Asia furrowed her eyebrows, "Apparently Harry has written in one of his letters about your reaction to his name coming out of the goblet; and he is not happy."

Asia walked back to the seat she had been sitting on previously, and resumed her seat before saying, "What exactly did he say?"

"Harry told him that he is very worried about your health," he answered, "So Sirius has asked me to tell you that if you are really worried about Harry, then the best you can do is take care of yourself and stay healthy enough to be able to take care of Harry. It is a win-win situation, really."

She nodded in response.

"Furthermore," he continued, "I want you to write to Sirius as soon as possible."

"Okay," she answered, "I will write to him as soon as I get back –"

"In the morning, Asia," Professor Dumbledore interrupted her.

"In the morning," she amended with a sheepish smile, "I will write when I get back, but I will send it after I get a good night's sleep."

"Hmm," he said in approval, "What else will you do?"

"I will have a healthy breakfast every morning from now on," Asia began counting off on her fingers, "I will eat lunch; I will not skip dinner anymore; I will not stay holed up in the library or the common room, to do homework, for the entire day; and I will also do my best to support Harry in every way possible without ignoring what my body needs, that includes sleep and food."

"Perfect," Professor Dumbledore said smiling at her with affection.

"Can I say something?" she asked him after a few moments.

"You just did. But, yes, you can say one more thing," he replied.

"Sometimes," she whispered, staring up at him, "I wish that you were my father."

Professor Dumbledore seemed extremely surprised by her words, because he said nothing for the next few moments. Asia suddenly thought that maybe she had said the wrong thing.

"Your father was an amazing man, Asia," he said, shaking his head, "You could not have had a better man for a father than him."

"But he was snatched away from me before I could get a chance to get to know him," she said looking at her folded hands on her lap.

"Well, like I had said before," he smiled, "There are things you just cannot stop from happening. It was inevitable; bound to happen."

"But, still," Asia said as she kept staring at her hands, "One cannot stop wishing, can they?"

"Would it make you feel better if I said that I already consider you as a daughter?"

"Not if you are saying it only to make me feel better, it would not," she said smiling satirically.

"I mean it," he said, making her look up at him, "I have always considered you as one."

That night, Asia went to sleep with a huge smile on her face. Professor Dumbledore, who said that she was like a daughter to him, had brought that smile on her face and it would be a long time before that smile could be wiped off.

_I have always considered you as a father too, Headmaster,_ she thought before drifting off to dream land.


End file.
